THE FLOATING DOCK

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 125, 24 February 1928, Page 8

THE FLOATING DOCK

FINANCING THE PROJECT PREPARATORY WORK AHEAD WORLD’S LARGEST TOW When the Thorndon reclamation, which is now progressing rapidly, is sufficiently advanced, the necessary approach, jetty, and mooring berth for the float, ing dock will be put in hand, and the site to be occupied by the dock will be dredged to the requisite depth. The dock will be the first of its kind in either Australia or New Zealand, and will be of sufficient lifting power to raise the largest ship trading to New Zealand. The question of providing docking facilities for ships at Wellington is one that has engaged the attention of the Harbour Board at different times for many years. Some years before the war a contract was let to Messrs. John McLean and Sons for the construction oi a large graving dock at Te Aro between Taranaki Street and Clyde Quay wharves. The site was dredged by the Whakarire, but difficulties afterwards arose in connection with the concrete work, and the contract was abandoned. Some years later the question of providing a small floating dock was raised by the late Mr. W. Cable, who was then a member of the Harbour Board. The board passed a resolution approving the proposal, but it was not proceeded with. Special Fund Established. After the .war, the Harbour Board again took up the question, and a dock aiid special equipment fund was established. According to the annual report of the board for the year ended September 30, 1926, this fund which was for the purpose of making provision for a floating dock had increased by £21,592 during'the year, and stood at £40,547. The report further stated: “If the fund continues to grow, as is anticipated, it should be possible in a few years, when the Thorndon reclamation is completed, for the board to establish a clock suitable for the requirements of any trading vessels visiting the port.” It is understood that the fund has further substantially increased, and that by the end of the current financial year it will have more than doubled the 1926 total. Preparatory Work. The latest decision of the board brings the acquisition of an up-to-date dock as part of the general equipment of the port to a definite stage, but it will be probablv a couple of years before the floating’ dock is in position and ready for business. At present there is a depth of over 40 feet of water on the site for the dock. The approach from the sea wall and the jetty will be constructed in reinforced concrete. As the dock itself, which will measure SGO feet in length and 114 feet in width, will be secured to the jettv, the latter will be, necessarily, _of particularly strong construction. The dock will be secured to the jetty by steel connections or arms, so constructed as to allow of the rise and fall of the dock with the tide, and when it is filled or pumped out. The sea bed of the selected site will be dredged to a more or less uniform depth to accommodate the dock, which will not rest on the bottom, but will have several feet of water under it when a ship is docking. The largest ships in the trade at present are sligbtlv under 12,500 tons gross register, but the lifting capacity of the dock is a matter of displacement, and its net lifting power will be 15,000 tons. The dock will be of the very latest type, and will be electrically equipped in respect of its pumping plant and other appliances. Round the World Tow. The dock will be built complete by the contractors when the tender is let and the contract price will jnclude its delivery at Wellington. The huge structure will have to be towed out from Britain to New Zealand, and this lends additional interest to the scheme, since Die tow will be the longest that has ever been undertaken. Some .years before the war a floating dock 385 feet in length and 70 feet in breadth, capable of lifting 6000 tons, was towed out from England round Cape Horn to Callao in Peru. The naval floating dock at Bermuda, approximately the same size as that proposed for Wellington, was towed across the Atlantic, and the United States naval floating dock Dewev, 500 feet long and 100 feet wide, capable of lifting 18,500 tons, was towed from Philadelphia to the Philippine Islands. The huge floating dock which is being constructed for the naval base at Singapore is being towed out in sections. The transport of the floating dock from Britain to Wellington will be the longest ocean tow of its kind ever undertaken. In all probability it will be brought out via the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal. Some two or three years ago Dutch tugs towed a floating dock out from Holland to Java and returned to Europe towing the burnt-out hulk of the steamer City of Singapore from Adelaide. The tugs employed on these long ocean tows are usually Dutch-owned. They are of large size and great power and fuel endurance. For example, several ocean tugs owned in Rotterdam are over 600 tons register, and nearly three times the size of the Toia or the Terawhiti. In towing the floating dock from Britain to Wellington, two, or possibly three, such tugs will be employed.