Recently, the “EAST END,” a 93,500-ton floating dock built by CSSC Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (QBS), a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), has officially entered service after completing its first docking operation in the Bahamas.
The “EAST END,” a 93,500-ton floating dock built by Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
The 357.39-meter-long and 76.1-meter-wide dock is equipped with an advanced autonomous control system for its floating and sinking functions, thus enhancing its efficiency and security. The maintenance and repair vehicles serving on the dock, produced by China Shipbuilding NDRI Engineering Co., Ltd., another subsidiary of CSSC, are able to handle the challenges brought by complicated marine circumstances to operate their smart operation systems with high stability.
Large luxurious cruise ships have long had to rely on the traditional bases in Europe and Singapore for maintenance and repair, which is time- consuming and costly due to the long voyages such repairs required. The newly commissioned floating dock "EAST END" at the Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport, the Bahamas, is set to change this dynamic. As a luxury cruise ship maintainer and modifier, the dock is capable of servicing all existing and currently planned cruise ships, as well as the majority of the global commercial fleet with an impressive lifting capacity of 93,500 tons. The operation of “EAST END” will enhance efficiency and reduce costs for the shipping industry in North America and even around the world.
In 2022, Qingdao Beihai the shipbuilder and China Shipbuilding Trading Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of CSSC, signed contracts with Carnival Corporation & plc and Royal Caribbean Group, two globally pioneering cruise-ship service providers, for the construction of two floating docks with lifting capacities of 120,000 tons and 93,500 tons, respectively. “EAST END,” the 93,500-ton lifting capacity floating dock, has arrived at the Grand Bahama Shipyard in November 2025. Then QBS dispatched a group of technicians to the shipyard, who completed debugging and testing of all systems in two months, ensuring the dock’s operation on schedule.
(Executive editor: Yuan Ting)
