The Necessity of Marine Spare Parts and Equipment Availability during Dry Dock

Blog | January 16th, 2017

Dry-docked marine vessels slip into specially excavated shore berths when below waterline repairs are scheduled. In draining the water from the dock, the hull of the ship is exposed for inspection. This is a place that conducts major ship services, the kind of upkeep work that can’t be performed on the open sea. It’s also a place where marine spare parts and equipment can be loaded, but just how operation-essential is this replacement gear?

Spare Parts: Priority Loading 

What necessities front the dock loading queue? The crew obviously need food and fresh water. This perishable stuff is time sensitive, so get those boxes into the onboard freezer. Likewise, task a dock hoist with the duty of shifting system essential gear. These components support the reconditioning process on a smaller level than a dry-docked hull repair, but they’re every bit as important as the overhaul.

Ordering Marine Interchangeables 

Essentially, this is an opportunity to add a stored inventory of backup components, a surplus that becomes a ship necessity when the vessel is back at sea. There are no parts warehouses out here, no equipment distribution networks, so the dry-dock is as much a supply opportunity as it is a vital repair and maintenance facility. It’s here that replacement engine cylinders and piston crowns stand ready for the cargo hold, and it’s here that operations vital equipment assemblies are deposited for rapid deployment.

Dry-docks Create Supply Connections 

The propulsion system benefits from this drained setting, for the propeller and its shaft become accessible when the engine is under repair. Meanwhile, that same heavy equipment maxim applies to the mechanical systems that can’t be installed while the vessel is at sea. Major generator assemblies and engine parts are classed in this latter category, as are the pipes that spread through the vessel’s superstructure. Arguably, most of this work can be conducted at sea, but certain tasks require a dry-dock setting. They include a full air compressor system overhaul, the upgrade of a primary electronics array, and really any project that demands the services of a dock crane.

The marine spare parts and equipment referred to in this docking event are absolute necessities. The spare parts are backups. On land, they’d be considered excess components, but this surplus enables a ship engineer to keep his oceangoing vessel breakdown free. Likewise, the equipment needs a dry-dock service to load and install heavy ship machinery, the gear that keeps the vessel ship-shape and in Bristol fashion.

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