Drydocks sets in motion region's largest ship lift

Drydocks World Dubai, a leading ship repair, conversion and new building company under the Drydocks World group, has carried out its first operation on the advanced 6000-tonne ship lift.

The inauguration took place at the Industrial Precinct in Dubai Maritime City (DMC), which also has another ship lift with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes, that is operational already.

The operation involved the lifting of MY Bart Roberts, a mega pleasure yacht weighing 2,310 tonnes, and transporting it safely to one of the 11 dry berths in the 6,000 tonne ship lift facility.

"This is a milestone event that will significantly enhance our current vessel handling capabilities," said Hamad Al Maghrabi, Director of the Jadaf facility and DMC – Ship Lift, a unit of Drydocks World Dubai.

"The Middle East's largest computerised ship lift is now operational and we are very proud of this achievement. This new development will further support and reinforce Drydocks World Dubai's position as one of the most prolific shipyards in operation.

"The 6,000 tonne ship lift will now enable the yard to handle larger vessels, workboats and yachts which will tremendously sharpen our competitive edge," he added.

Ali Al Dabood, Deputy Executive Director of the DMC Authority, and Chief Operations Officer at DMC, said: "One of our priorities as a maritime authority in Dubai is to support the existence of a strong ship maintenance and support infrastructure in Dubai."

"The successful operation and testing of the 6,000- tonne ship lift in DMC will certainly help position Dubai and the UAE as a main player in the global shipping repair and servicing industry."

The ship lift is 130 metres long, 35m wide and has the capacity to lift vessels weighing up to 6,000 tonnes. The newly-operational ship lift is the larger of the two ship lifts, built recently to boost vessel handling capabilities of the ship repair yard.

The first ship lift, 90m long, 25m wide and 14m in depth, is already operational with the capacity to lift vessels weighing up to 3,000 tonnes with 33 dry berths.

Manufactured by world-renowned ship lift specialist company Hydraudyne Rexroth, both the ship lifts are capable of 14m vertical movement with platforms and vessels.

Last year, DMC signed a contract with Drydocks World – Dubai giving the latter rights to run and manage all components of DMC's Industrial Precinct, including wet berths and dry berths. (Wam)

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