INFRASTRUCTURE
Floating shipyards keep vessels in service across expanding waters
Offshore dry docks and modular yards deliver repairs where ports run out of space
New floating drydock for General Dynamics NASSCO on BOKA Vanguard (source: GD-NASSCO)
Land-locked shipyards and port congestion are limiting naval upkeep. Floating shipyards—dry docks and repair facilities on pontoons—offer scalable repair, conversion, and maintenance services in coastal or remote zones.
Here are the latest real-world updates:
Grand Bahama Shipyard gears up with two new floating dry docks
The Bahamas launched a $600 million redevelopment in 2025, building two massive floating dry docks (“East End” and “Lucayan”) by China State Shipbuilding, making it one of the Western Hemisphere’s premier repair hubs.Largest-ever floating dry dock delivered from Turkey to USA
In August 2025, General Dynamics NASSCO received a 35,000-tonne lifting-capacity floating dry dock built in Turkey—underscoring modular floating yard capability at massive scale.Tenerife shipyard constructs new floating dock facility
Tenerife Shipyards began building a floating dry dock in November 2024, designed to lift 22,000-tonne vessels at the Port of Santa Cruz. It’s slated for 2026 deployment to revitalize Atlantic repair capacity.First commercial FPSO delivery signals modular offshore shipyard growth
In July 2025, Seatrium delivered Petrobras 78, a floating production, storage, and offloading unit—providing proof the floating yard model can deliver complex, heavy-sea modules reliably.
Floating shipyard (by Ahmed Samir Ghowel)
That’s not all: shipyard operators are now integrating covered floating hangars, prefabricated ship sections, and crush-resistant pontoons that attach to shore by mooring arms—allowing yard operations in sheltered and deep-water zones alike.
With coastal industrial land shrinking and naval demand rising, floating shipyards are proving they can keep fleets flowing. Today’s floating yards are tomorrow’s global maintenance network.
—TFI
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