2023-10-24 23:01:32
Photos: RL Hevia
Text: Hugo León
Cuba inaugurated this Tuesday a Chinese-built floating dock that, according to official sources, is the most modern and the largest that will offer services in the Caribbean region.
The dock, named Floting Dock 2, will be operated by the Caribbean Drydock Company SA Shipyard Company and its advanced technology will have the capacity to operate up to 22 thousand tons of lift.
The preparation of the structure was undertaken by Cuban and Chinese specialists and it was a million-dollar investment that was disbursed from a Chinese loan, as part of the cooperation projects signed a few years ago between the Asian giant and the Cuban Ministry of Transportation (Mitrans ).
Taking into account the state of the Cuban fleet and the draft of its ships, this new dock could be focused mainly on providing services to shipping companies and other companies that own ships in the Caribbean area.
The dock was manufactured by the Huarun Dadong Dockyard company and the work to prepare it began in the middle of this year, although the structure arrived in Cuba in 2019, according to New China TV.
According to the Cuban Maritime Transport Business Group (GEMAR), the dock will be of vital importance for the sustainability and development of maritime activity on the island and throughout the Caribbean, thanks to its potential to strengthen Cuban capabilities in the shipbuilding and repair industry.
In this sense, specialized media such as Mundo Marítimo and Portal Portuario report that the structure will be capable of providing services to Panamax-type vessels, among the most used in the world.
Furthermore, due to the importance of the dam for the entry of foreign currency to the island, its completion and implementation was one of the topics on the agenda of the Cuban delegation that visited China in 2022, headed by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Alejandro Gil, Minister of Economy and Planning.
#Cuba #inaugurates #modern #floating #dock #Caribbean