Two large floating dock modules have been launched in Szczecin, Poland, marking a key stage in the construction of a new dock for Gryfia Marine Ship Repair Yard.

The first central module, built at Szczecin Wulkan Shipyard, entered the water on 19 April and was moored on the Oder River. The section weighed 3,600 tonnes and measured 70 m long, more than 46 m wide and 19 m high.

The launch operation used a pontoon brought from Norway, self-propelled modular transporters from Belgium and tugboats. A second module, more than 80 m long, was launched on 22 April.

The full dock will be assembled on the water and is scheduled for delivery in July 2027. Once completed, the structure will be 240 m long and will serve Gryfia Marine Ship Repair Yard, which operates across the Oder from the construction site.

Grzegorz Huszcz of Szczecin Shipyard Wulkan said moving the first module from the quay to the pontoon, lowering it and securing it took about eight hours. He said even light wind created difficulty because of the size of the structure.

The docking hull will be assembled entirely afloat, a process Huszcz described as the first operation of this scale in Poland. Heavy equipment for the project was brought to Szczecin in dozens of trucks.

The contract was signed in 2020. The original cost estimate was PLN 130 million, around EUR 30 million and $35 million, later revised to PLN 160 million to PLN 180 million. By 2024, the cost had risen to more than PLN 250 million, while around 30% to 35% of the work had been completed. Industry experts and Deputy Infrastructure Minister Arkadiusz Marchewka have said the final cost could reach around PLN 400 million, about EUR 95 million and $110 million.

The project and the wider modernization of Gryfia Marine Ship Repair Yard are being financed largely by the state-owned Company Development Fund. The yard employs around 450 people, while companies operating at the Szczecin Wulkan site employ up to 2,500 workers.

Following the second launch, the yard plans to join the module with a third section, whose components have already been prepared and painted. Final assembly will include work above and below the waterline, with a protective tunnel being built to support welding around 1 m below the surface.

The two outer dock sections, each more than 80 m long, will contain major systems including two pumping stations for the ballast system. Two cranes will operate along the dock towers for ship repair work.

When in service, Dock No. 8 will allow Gryfia Marine Ship Repair Yard to inspect and repair vessels more than 230 m long, around 36 m wide and weighing up to 24,000 tonnes. The dock will also be able to handle vessels with unusual weight distribution, including ro-pax ferries, and ships fitted with azimuth thrusters.

Gryfia Marine Ship Repair Yard has already prepared its site for the dock. Works completed last year included a 17 m docking depth in the Oder, new power cables, an upgraded quay and a 57 m pier, at a cost of PLN 140 million.