Drydocks World – Dubai, the region’s premier ship repair, conversion and new building company under the Drydocks World group, announced that it has successfully carried out its first operation on the advanced 6000-tonne ship lift at the Industrial Precinct in Dubai Maritime City. The Industrial precinct at DMC also has another ship lift with a capacity of 3000 tonnes, which is operational already.
The operation involved the lifting of M.Y. Bart Roberts, a mega pleasure yacht weighing 2,310 tonnes, and transporting it safely to one of the 11 dry berths in the 6000 tonne Ship Lift facility. The operation was carried out by the Drydocks World – Dubai Ship Lift Operation Team in the presence of a number of officials from the company, including Mr. Hamed Bin Lahej, CEO – Middle East Region and Nawal Saigal, Managing Director of Drydocks World -Dubai. The event was hosted by Hamad Al Maghrabi, Director of the Jadaf facility and DMC – Ship lift, a part of Drydocks World – Dubai
"This is a milestone event that will significantly enhance our current vessel handling capabilities," said Hamad Al Maghrabi of the first operation on the 6000-tonne ship lift. He added: "The Middle East's largest computerised ship lift is now operational and we are very proud of this achievement. This new development will further support and reinforce Drydocks World – Dubai's position as one of the most prolific shipyards in operation. The 6000 tonne ship lift will now enable the yard to handle larger vessels, workboats and yachts which will tremendously sharpen our competitive edge. I congratulate the Operations team on a job well done."
Ali Al Dabood, the Deputy Executive Director of Dubai Maritime City Authority, and Chief Operations Officer at DMC said: “One of our priorities as a maritime authority in Dubai is to support the existence of a strong ship maintenance and support infrastructure in Dubai. The successful operation and testing of the 6000 ton ship lift in DMC will certainly help position Dubai and the UAE as a main player in the global shipping repair and servicing industry. And we are very confident that our colleagues at Drydocks World - Dubai will do an excellent job in running the industrial precinct at DMC.”
The ship lift is 130 metres long, 35 metres wide and has the capacity to lift vessels weighing up to 6,000 tonnes. The newly operational ship lift is the larger of the two ship lifts, built recently to boost vessel handling capabilities of the ship repair yard. The first ship lift, 90 metres long, 25 meters wide and 14 metres in depth, is already operational with the capacity to lift vessels weighing up to 3,000 tonnes with 33 dry berths.
Manufactured by world-renowned shiplift specialist company Hydraudyne Rexroth, both the shiplifts are capable of 14m vertical travel with platforms and vessels.
Last year, Dubai Maritime City signed a contract with Drydocks World – Dubai giving the latter exclusive rights to run and manage all components of Dubai Maritime City's Industrial Precinct, including wet berths, dry berths, workshops, warehouses, the 3,000-tonne and 6,000-tonne ship lifts, the ship lift control building, central administration building and covered yacht repair area, among other areas.

Drydocks World, a Dubai World company, is one of the most prominent names in the maritime industry. Over the past 26 years, Drydocks World has established itself as a leading, and fast growing international player in ship repair, shipbuilding, rig building, FPSO conversion, offshore fabrication and fleet operations with facilities in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Drydocks World's flagship facility, Drydocks World - Dubai is the largest, cutting edge ship repair, conversion and new building facility between Europe and the Far East.
The yard's strategic geographic location, advanced technologies and well-resourced workshops have made it the preferred facility for local and international maritime companies. The 200 hectares facility has direct access to the sea, through a 350-metre wide entrance channel. Its three graving docks can handle any existing or planned size type of vessels, supplemented with a 15,000 tonnes floating dock and 3,100 metres of repair berths in the main yard.

The Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) was established in July 2007 by a decree from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the UAE Vice president, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, as a major step in the direction of establishing a world-class maritime legislative and regulatory body in Dubai.
The Authority will gradually and steadily play a major and a leadership role in regulating and addressing all maritime related activities, challenges and business needs, for both the local and the global maritime audiences alike. The law tasks DMCA to enhance Dubai's position in the maritime industry, and to oversee the development of specific maritime sectors such as maritime services, maritime management, vessel and yacht registration, vessel and yacht ownership and charter, maritime and educational research, vessel and yacht design and building, maritime shipment organization, maritime exhibition, conferences, training and workshops; maritime tourism and maritime specialized arbitration.