Damen Shiprepair Curaçao floating dock operational

Damen Shiprepair Curaçao (DSCu), has on 2 November commissioned its large floating C dock. After the final tests had been carried out in the morning, the C Dock was submerged onto the equalized seabed. DSCu Nautical department, with the help of local KTK pilots and tugs subsequently docked the first commercial ship, a 63,400 tonnes deadweight bulkcarrier, thus putting the C dock into service.

“This marks a special milestone and we are very proud of this,” Lodewijk Franken, DSCu’s managing director commented about the 230 by 45 metres Panamax-class dock. “It is highly rewarding to see the yard’s infrastructure today, following an intensive period of improvements, and to have the first ship in our C dock.” It is one of two floating docks in which Damen has invested. Both docks arrived jointly at the Caribbean island of Curaçao on 30 April 2018 and are part of a wider investment programme for DSCu since its takeover by Damen in 2017.

Franken: “Many on the island still vividly remember the moment when the heavy lift ship Xin Guang Hua arrived at the Sint Anna Bay with our two floating docks on board and passed the Queen Juliana Bridge on April 30. This was a breathtaking moment which the staff at the yard relived when watching the first commercial docking on November 2. Docking the large bulkcarrier went smoothly.”

The smaller D dock – which had been docked inside the C dock since their Atlantic crossing – has been floated-out late October to be moored alongside the repair quayside. It is currently having electric power connected after which the pumps and valves can be tested. It is expected to be put into service in November also.

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