Dry docking is a term used for repairs or when a ship is taken to the service yard. During dry docking, the whole ship is brought to a dry land so that the submerged portions of the hull can be cleaned or inspected.
In layman terms, drydocking is like taking your car to the garage for maintenance. There are various types of vessels from a small boat to a giant ship, require serving, repair & maintenance and beatification. Due to various design, different structure and heavy weight of ship, it requires to construct special types of docking structure to conduct ship repair and maintenance efficiently.
Vessel conduct Dry- Docking:
• According to a SOLAS requirement, every sea going ship should be dry docked at least twice every 5 years.
• Dry docks should also be carried out if demanded by the Classification Society.
• This is usually asked to be done in case the ship has met with a collision, has been grounded in past or has a lousy maintenance practice.
• Inspection during dry docking is also carried out if the ship is to be sold.
The type of Dry-docking method selected depends on the type of the ship and the severity of maintenance and repair required. The four main types of Dry-docking Methods are as follows: