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'Torm Sara' in dry dock, Belfast

'Torm Sara' in the Belfast Dry Dock (Harland & Wolff repair dock). A 'LR1' type tanker, she is usually employed on the medium distance voyages in the Middle East, Northern Europe, the Caribbean and the Far East. At 228m in length and with tanks that can hold a maximum 524,212 barrels of oil, she is larger than most tankers using the port of Belfast. Getting into the dry dock appeared a tricky operation requiring the assistance of both Belfast based tug 'Willowgarth' Link and the Glasgow based 'Svitzer Mallaig' NS3175 : Tug Svitzer Mallaig which travelled from the Clyde to help.

See also See also J3676 : 'Lagan Viking' in dry dock, Belfast, J3676 : The 'Valparaiso Star' in dry dock, Belfast, J3676 : 'Sir Charles Parsons' in Belfast, J3676 : 'Sir Charles Parsons' in dry dock, Belfast, J3676 : The 'Stena Caledonia' in dry dock, Belfast, J3676 : 'Isle of Inishmore' and 'Jonathan Swift' in Belfast, J3676 : 'M/F Ulysses' in Belfast [2], J3676 : 'M/F Ulysses' in Belfast, J3676 : The Harland and Wolff repair dock by night, J3676 : Eddystone [2], J3676 : Eddystone [1] & J3676 : Anvil Point returns to Belfast for other similar images taken over the last year.

Some notes on the dock itself:

By the early 1960s it was clear that the largest dock in Belfast, the Thompson Graving Dock (see J3576 : Thompson Graving Dock), was too small for modern tankers and bulk carriers then being constructed. The Harland and Wolff dry dock (known as the Belfast Dry Dock) was constructed between 1965-68 by Charles Brand and Sons to a design by Rendel, Palmer and Tritton. It is 1150 feet long by 160 feet wide and, when constructed, was one of the five largest docks in the world. The dock can accommodate ships up to 200,000gt.