The company has dredged dock 4 by just over two meters with the 'Allure of the Seas' in mind.
The Navantia-Cádiz shipyard is currently undergoing upgrades in preparation for the arrival of large cruise ships that will be repaired at the shipyards in the city of Cádiz.
As Juan Bedeli, president of the shipyard's works council, explained to this newspaper yesterday, these improvements have focused on raising the depth of dry dock 4, which will accommodate one of the world's largest cruise ships, the Allure of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean.
Specifically, the depth of this dock has been increased from approximately 7 meters to 9.5 meters, ensuring the ship's safe entry. As the cruise line itself explains on its website, the Allure weighs 100,000 tons, has a length of 361.5 meters, a beam of 47 meters, and a draft of 9 meters.
But, as Bedeli explained, this upgrade to the depth of the facilities also allows them to be prepared for any need the US Navy might have with any of the four destroyers that are part of NATO's missile defense shield at the Rota Naval Base.
The committee chairman detailed that US regulations stipulate that any dry dock through which their ships pass must have a depth of one meter greater below the keel of these vessels. With that depth, Bedeli said, "we are prepared for any eventuality; although if they need major repairs, these destroyers will normally depart for their bases and shipyards in the US, if any emergency arises, we would be ready in Cádiz."
This marks the beginning of the final stretch of the year, a quarter in which the shipyard in the capital of Cádiz will receive up to four cruise ships. The first to arrive will be the Empress, which, although scheduled to enter dry dock on the 22nd, Bedeli indicated is very likely to arrive earlier. It will remain for 10 days for repairs. Following its departure, the Sovereign, coinciding for several days with the Deutschland, the large cruise ship that will require 23 days of work and up to 400 auxiliary industry employees, before finally completing the repairs on another cruise ship, the Wind Surf.
Once the Wind Surf's repairs are finished, the shipyard in Cádiz will experience a slowdown in its activity, as described yesterday by Juan Bedeli, president of the Navantia works council in the city. He explained that work will only resume on January 15th with the arrival at the Cádiz dry dock of the aircraft carrier Juan Carlos I, which will undergo its first maintenance dry-docking since its launch. However, according to Bedeli, this will not generate much work for contractors, which, in his opinion, necessitates greater continuity in the repair cycle for the cruise ships that arrive in Cádiz.
Source: FR CÁDIZ diariodejerez.es
