Tuesday, May 01, 2007

The Dockwise Swan

Sea traffic in New York Harbor is common, but one large freighter caught the attention of motorists Monday. If you were driving on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge or BQE, you might have seen a strange sight: a sinking ship.

As some were dialing 911 to report a sinking ship, Chopper 2 HD flew over the harbor to catch the unique vessel in action.



The open-deck heavy transport and product carrier is actually "semi-submersible," which means that it can lower its deck to below water level to pick up and drop off cargo.

"Float-on/float-off" loading and unloading are possible because of 50 ballast tanks that can be filled and emptied to lower and raise the deck of the massive vessel.

Dockwise operates a fleet of 15 semi-submersible vessels worldwide, moving yachts and serving the oil and gas industries.

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