Today, Friday, Admiral. Ossama Rabiee, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, announced the success of the biggest qualitative transit operation in the canal’s history, as the floating dock "DOURADO" transited through the Canal's new waterway in the northbound convoy. The dock, 90 meters wide, was towed from the front by two escorting tugs, while piloted by five tugs from the SCA and a team of senior SCA pilots and tugs' masters during its voyage from Singapore to Turkey.
The transit of the floating dock "DOURADO" is considered one of the non-conventional transit operations, as it is the largest floating unit to transit the Canal by towing, with a total transit length (including the dock and tugs) of 450 meters, a width of 90 meters, and a tonnage of 91,000 tons. Its transit required complex navigation arrangements due to the nature of the floating unit, which relies solely on tugs for steering that requires precise maneuvering and careful monitoring of the directions of air and water currents to maintain its navigational axis in the Canal throughout the voyage.
The Chairman explained that the transit of the floating dock took nearly 24 hours and required several pre-transit procedures, starting with the navigation plan prepared by the Navigation Monitoring Center, followed by discussions and analysis of necessary navigation safety measures for the safe transit of the dock at the SCA's Simulation and Maritime Training Academy. An initial inspection of the dock was then conducted at the Suez Anchorage Area by a working group of pilots and tugs' masters.
Adm. Rabiee added that preparations for the transit of the floating dock commenced in coordination with the dock's owning company before the start of the voyage. Once the dock reached the Canal's Anchorage Area, its preparation to be linked to the tugs was underway, as it was towed from the front by its two escorting tugs from Singapore, "Hulk II" and "MAVERICK 1," and five SCA’s tugs for navigation safety, led by the tug "Barka 1". The "Mohamed Bashir" and "Nabil Helaly" tugs maintained the dock’s central position in the Canal from both sides, while the "Suez 1" and "Suez 2" tugs provided rear support, all under the supervision of a team consisting of 16 Canal pilots and 10 tugs' masters.
Adm. Rabiee affirmed that the SCA took all necessary measures to ensure the safe and secure transit of the floating dock by providing essential navigation aids and continuous monitoring around the clock from the main Navigation Control Office and navigation monitoring stations, with speed restrictions that did not exceed 4 knots, in addition to specifying the course and monitoring water currents.
The Chairman emphasized that the success of these qualitative transit operations stands as a testament to the Suez Canal’s ability to carry out various transit operations, proving its readiness to provide all necessary navigation, maritime, and logistical services, including pilotage, navigation security, escort, salvage, and more.
Adm. Rabiee noted that the floating dock "DOURADO" would not have been able to transit the Canal without the completion of the Canal's expansion project as part of the southern sector development project. Before this expansion, the maximum allowable beam to transit was 70 meters, as per the navigation regulations. This transit marks the first-ever transit of a floating unit of this width since the completion of the expansion project, which added 40 meters to the Canal’s width on the eastern side, reducing water current effects and enhancing navigation safety in the southern sector. It has also improved the Canal's efficiency and capacity to accommodate floating units that previously could not transit.
It is worth mentioning that the Suez Canal has witnessed numerous qualitative transit operations, notably the transit of the floating dock "Fakhr Al-Qanah" with a tonnage of 34,000 tons in June 2023, the transit of the ENERGEAN POWER LNG production and storage unit in June 2022, and the group of the pipelines in September 2020.