First 'Made in India' floating dock for Navy launched

It will be handed over to the Navy after 3-4 months of trial

A dry dock is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in and then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform in all kinds of weather. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, and repair of ships, boats, and other watercraft.
While foreign technology is available to build a dry dock and India already has one in operation, on Tuesday India built its first indigenously developed floating dock. Floating docks can be installed either along a jetty, moored in calm waters and also moved to high seas enabling round-the-year operation.
The brand new Floating Dock (FDN-2) will enable repair of Indian Navy ships, including sophisticated warships. On Tuesday, it was launched at Larsen & Toubro Shipyard at Kattupalli, north of Chennai. It will be handed over to the Navy after three to four months of trial.
"It is truly a Made in India product," said Vice-Admiral DM Deshpande, Controller Warship Production and Acquisition of Indian Navy, at the launch function at L&T Kattupalli Shipyard. Eventually, FDN-2 will be moved to Andaman & Nicobar Islands, an increasingly important strategic port for India.
FDN-2 is the first Naval shipbuilding project for L&T. Simultaneous docking of multiple ships, and off-center docking options are enabled with this facility. The dock is provided with a hauling-in system to handle a ship's docking and undocking operations. It can also support ships berthed along its side. The project is worth around Rs480 crore.
India's L&T, one of the world's best engineering firms, though relatively fresh to marine technology, has also been contracted by Indian Coast Guard to design and build seven Offshore Patrol Vessels. Two of these are to be launched in the second half of this financial year. The increasing focus on ships and docks and vessels show how seriously India has begun to see its waters.
The Floating Dock is 185 meters long and 40 meters wide and will enable docking of all kinds of vessels, including Naval ships and submarines (excepting aircraft carriers and tankers) of up to 8,000 tonnes displacement, with draughts of up to seven meters, during both day and night.
"The dock will be delivered in two to three months at Port Blair," said B. Kannan, head of shipbuilding, L&T. India is looking at expansion in Port Blair as a key strategic port, and therefore the number of assets in terms of ships and submarines operating from there will soon see an increase. It is in this context that the new floating dock assumes importance.

• India