Missing Unlit Dry Dock Turns Up in The Bahamas After More Than a Year at Sea

A picture of the floating dry dock in Farmer’s Cay Cut in Exuma, Bahamas. Photo: Hervin Thomas via Facebook

The saga of the unlit section of dry dock that has been floating around the Atlantic Ocean for more than a year now may finally be coming to a close after it turned up in the Exuma island chain last week.

The Bahamas’ Royal Bahamas Defence Force said the “unidentified floating container unit” was located off Farmer’s Cay and locals were able to anchor the object and place a light on it to ensure it is visible at night. A patrol craft was expected to further examine the object to make sure it was secure and also add additional lighting to it.

The object in question is believed to be an old section of dry dock from the former Avondale Shipyard in Louisiana.

According to reports, the dock left the yard last September under tow to the Canary Islands, but people tracking the voyage say the tow failed, likely during Hurricane Irma, and only about half of the dry dock arrived in the Canary Islands.

Two large sections of the dock were spotted independently of each other on at least three separate occasions south of Bermuda back in May, causing concern among sailors and mariners about the hazards to navigation.

Officials are now working to confirm the identity of the dock and put together plans to salvage it.

Updated: November 14, 2018 (Originally published November 12, 2018)

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