Lyon Shipyard Christens New Dry Dock

After more than nine months living part time in Rhode Island, Lyon Shipyard Project Manager Jimmy Yellen will return home with a brand new dry dock. During that time, Yellen oversaw the construction by Senesco Marine of the dry dock for Lyon Shipyard in Norfolk, Va.

The dry dock will be used for handling deep draft tugs. It measures 200 ft. long with a 108-ft. beam and is able to handle a capacity of 3,800 long tons. “This dry dock is very important for us at Lyon,” said Yellen. “It puts us in a new market which will allow us to work on deep draft tugs.” The dry dock can take a boat drafting 22 ft. over 5 ft. keel blocks. When fully submerged only about 24 in. on the wing walls will be visible. “Market demand is changing, a lot of older, smaller vessels are being retired and everything now is getting bigger,” said Yellen. As for his experience working with the folks at Senesco Marine, Yellen said he couldn’t have been happier. “I’m very impressed with their operation and their quality of work, especially their welding.” One of the differences between this dry dock and many others is the paint job. Lyon and Senesco Marine went to great lengths not only to make sure it looks good, but also that it lasts a long time. “The extra paint will allow us to keep the dry dock in the water,” said Yellen. “We wanted to spend the extra money now on the paint so hopefully we can keep it in the water for 20 years without having to put it in dry dock for maintenance.”