Why choose a Syncrolift shiplift?

How does a Rolls-Royce Syncrolift^® shiplift compare with other types of dry-docks?

In recent years, a Syncrolift has been selected in virtually every new installation where the vessel docking weight was between 150 and 25,000 tonnes.

Generally, there are five types of dry-docks - the mobile travel lift, the marine railway, the shiplift, the floating dry-dock and the graving dock or basin. Compared to other generic dry-docking systems, Syncrolift shiplifts excel in :

• Speed of dry-docking and transfer
• Safety
• Ease of operation
• Low maintenance
• Environmental desirability
• Very cost efficient to operate

Most importantly, a Syncrolift, when used with a transfer system, feeds numerous shore berths and the shiplift platform itself always remains available for emergency ship repair opportunities.

What next...

There are five types of dry-docks:

Mobile travel lift - For general use in small boatyards, the travel lift embodies all of the dry-docking virtues in that it combines the capabilities of ship recovery and launching with that of transfer.

Its only shortcoming is that it is limited in capacity to about 150 tonnes. Although larger capacities are theoretically possible from the viewpoint of the lifting equipment, a significant hazard to the ship structure is present when using straps to support the hulls of larger vessels. The problem of supporting the area in which the travel lift runs should not be forgotten.

The high cost of good quality foundations and paving on which the wheels run can often be prohibitive.

Marine railways - have been virtually discontinued for new facilities with two exceptions; where extreme river elevation differences make shiplifts impractical, side haul railways are used, and where small yards improvise dry-docks and build marine railways of small size.

They are slow, hazardous, difficult to maintain and require a separate facility for each ship to be shore berthed.

Floating dry-docks - are still being constructed, although usually in sizes beyond the practical limits of shiplifts. They offer few advantages, the principal one being their somewhat limited portability. Among their disadvantages is that they are slow, require ship-like maintenance with associated manning requirements, restrict access to the ship during repair or construction and require a separate facility for each ship to be dry-docked.

Their own requirement for periodic surveys means long periods of downtime at regular intervals.

Graving docks - are rarely considered except for situations where massive size is required. They are extremely costly, difficult to work in, slow to function, environmentally undesirable and, again, require a separate facility for each ship to be dry-docked.

What next...