Emergency Contact AqualisBraemar Technical Services Ltd: Floating docks and their operating hazards Home Latest updates News AqualisBraemar Technical Services Ltd: Floating docks and their operating hazards 19 Aug 2019 Download Sign up for alerts AqualisBraemar is a leading provider of Hull & Machinery damage surveys, P&I surveys, risk assessments, inspections and audits providing 24/7 worldwide emergency response. M.K Cheah joined AqualisBraemar in 2009 as a naval architect for the Asia Pacific region. His experience is in shipbuilding, offshore construction and shipyard operations. M.K conducts shipyard risk assessments, warranty surveys for various types of heavy lift projects, towage, H&M and casualty. A floating dock (FD) is often seen as a viable option for the dry docking of smaller vessels which alleviates the necessity to utilise a fixed land-based graving dock. However it must be borne in mind that the risks involved with operating a floating dock are substantially more than those associated with a graving dock. Hazards Although an FD remains stationary for most of its operational life, there are significant risks involved in certain specific circumstances: 1. Geographical The roadmap to safe operations of the floating dock begins all the way from the planning stage wherein a suitable location is selected. Geographical location of a shipyard will determine the selection of a floating dock. These factors would ideally include water depth, proximity of the FD to adjacent shipyards, local marine traffic and weather conditions such as exposure to typhoons, seismic activities and tsunamis. On two separate occasions, FDs located in South East Asia suffered damage to their side shell plates, securing piles and ramps due to waves generated from a third-party vessel. The first case involved a vessel that was returning from a sea trial and was travelling at an excessive speed while passing near an FD which was moored at a nearby shipyard. The wake genera