Surabaya Dock of 3,500 tons was a floating
dry dock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
which served in Indonesia from about 1913 till about 1956.
Context
Surabaya is on
Madura Strait
Madura Strait is a stretch of water that separates the Indonesian islands of Java and Madura, in the province of East Java. The islands of Kambing, Giliraja, Genteng, and Ketapang lie in the Strait. The Suramadu Bridge, the longest in Indonesi ...
at the mouth of the
Kali Mas
The Kali Mas ("Golden river" in Javanese) is a distributary of the Brantas River in East Java, flowing north easterly towards the Madura Strait. This river also forms part of the border between the Sidoarjo and Gresik regencies.
History
Th ...
river. In the natural situation, ships that wanted to trade with the city could safely anchor off the coast, so smaller ships could transload goods to the city proper. The good connections to the interior that the river provided made Surabaya a good location for a harbor. In the mid 1830s the Dutch Navy decided to locate her main base in the Indies at Surabaya. In the 1840 this led to the construction of the Maritime Establishment (Dutch: Maritiem Etablissement) just east of the river. Center piece of the base were a
wet dock
Wet may refer to:
* Moisture, the condition of containing liquid or being covered or saturated in liquid
* Wetting (or wetness), a measure of how well a liquid sticks to a solid rather than forming a sphere on the surface
Wet or WET may also refe ...
called basin, where ships could attach to a quay, and a dry dock.
From about 1909 the Dutch government then started the construction of a modern harbor known as the
Port of Tanjung Perak
Port of Tanjung Perak ( id, Pelabuhan Tanjung Perak) is the second busiest sea port in Indonesia, located at Surabaya, East Java. It is the main port for the eastern part of the island of Java. The port is accessed from the North through the Ma ...
(Dutch: Tandjong Perak). It also wanted to have a modern dry dock facility in the new harbor. The facilities in the
port of Tanjung Priok
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
functioned rather well, but tended to be pricey. Therefore, several shipping lined promoted the establishment of a similar company in Surabaya, which could compete with the Tanjung Priok Drydock Company (Droogdok Maatschappij Tandjong Priok).
On 22 September 1910
Droogdok Maatschappij Soerabaja (DMS) was established by contract. It had a capital of 1,000,000 guilders. CEO was A.C. Zeeman, former chief inspector of shipping in the Dutch East Indies. The supervisory board was formed by W. Fenenga, of
Amsterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij
Amsterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij (ADM) was a Dutch company that repaired ships using dry docks in Amsterdam, Netherlands. After World War II it also built some ships.
Context
Port of Amsterdam
By the early 19th century the once famous co ...
; J. Muysken, of
Nederlandsche Fabriek van Werktuigen en Spoorwegmaterieel; J.B.A. Jonckheer of
Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland
The Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland ("Netherlands Steamship Company") or SMN, also known as the Netherland Line or Nederland Line, was a Dutch shipping line that operated from 1870 until 1970, when it merged with several other companies to form ...
; and J.H. Hummel of the
Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij
Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij (Dutch for Royal Packet Navigation Company), better known as KPM, was a Dutch shipping company (1888–1966) in the Netherlands East Indies, now Indonesia. It was the dominant inter-island shipping line in Ind ...
(KPM) and
Java-China-Japan Line.
During its first years the company was a bit quite, because it did not yet have a drydock. Construction (dredging) of the harbor of Surabaya started only in January 1912.
Construction and characteristics
Ordering and Construction
The overall design and construction of Surabaya Dock of 3,500 tons was led by W. Fenenga. It was ordered at
William Hamilton and Company
William Hamilton and Company was a British shipyard in Port Glasgow, Scotland. The company was bought by Lithgow Ltd., which later became Scott Lithgow and was nationalised as part of British Shipbuilders in 1977.
During the Second World War th ...
. She was launched at
Port Glasgow
Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recen ...
on 21 June 1912 as ''Soerabaya I''.
She was next towed to Victoria Harbour in Greenock for trials.
Characteristics
Surabaya Dock of 3,500 tons was 320 feet long and 80 feet wide. Actual lift capacity was 3,560 tons, and ships with a draught of up to 18 feet could use it.
Others have the dock as 350 feet long, with a beam of 85 feet. and a height of 30 feet above the waterline.
There is a statement that the lift capacity of 3,500 tons equaled a capacity to lift ships with a displacement of 8,000 tons.
The dock consisted of 18 watertight compartments. Each could be flooded separately. Two electro-engines drove two
centrifugal pump
Centrifugal pumps are used to transport fluids by the conversion of rotational kinetic energy to the hydrodynamic energy of the fluid flow. The rotational energy typically comes from an engine or electric motor. They are a sub-class of dynamic ...
s. It was expected that electricity was provided by a power station on shore. Nevertheless, there were two Cochran boilers, which could drive a generator if the drydock would have to be used outside the port.
Service
Voyage to Surabaya
On 6 July 1912 Surabaya Dock of 3,500 tons left
Greenock
Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...
towed by the ocean tug ''Thames'' of
Smit International
Smit Internationale N.V. (or Smit International) is a Dutch company operating in the maritime sector. The company was founded in 1842 by Fop Smit as a towage company with only the 140 horsepower paddle steamer tug ''Kinderdijk''.
Fop's sons, ...
. Inside the dock was a floating crane meant for KPM. On 14 July the convoy was at , on 24 July the convoy passed Gibraltar. On 3 August it arrived in Malta, from whence it left on the 5th. On 16 August the convoy arrived in
Port Said
Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...
. On 4 September it passed
Perim
Perim ( ar, بريم 'Barīm'', also called Mayyun in Arabic, is a volcanic island in the Strait of Mandeb at the south entrance into the Red Sea, off the south-west coast of Yemen and belonging to Yemen. It administratively belongs to Dhuba ...
at the southern exit of the Red Sea, and on 5 September it arrived in Aden. ''Thames'' and ''Surabaya Dock I'' left Aden on 16 September. On 13 October they arrived in
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
. On 30 October 1912 the ships arrived in
Sabang, Aceh
Sabang ( Jawoë: سابڠ) is a city in Aceh province, Indonesia consisting of Weh Island and several smaller islands off the northern tip of Sumatra. The administrative centre is located north of Banda Aceh. The city covers an area of and ...
, the first harbor in the Dutch East Indies. On 19 November 1912 they arrived in Surabaya. The voyage of 9,000 sea miles set a distance record for towing a dry dock with one tug. The voyage was interesting enough to be covered in some detail.
Service offshore
The original plan was that the new harbor of Surabaya would be ready in 1913, but that did not happen. Therefore, the dry dock company did not send the machines for the planned repair shipyard (estimated at 250,000 guilders) to Surabaya. Surabaya Dock of 3,500 tons was anchored offshore, instead of in the new harbor.
Regular service
On 13 March 1916 the workplaces of the drydock company became operational. March 1916 was also the month that both the 3,500 tons dock and
Surabaya Dock of 14,000 tons were brought into port. It was June (1917?) before the 14,000 dock was brought to its designated place.
In 1917 the dock was not yet in its designated place. It was nevertheless quite busy with 65 ships using the dock in 54 dockings (i.e. multiple ships in one go) for 308 days. In 1918 the dock itself was lifted by the 14,000 tons dock for 22 days to undergo repairs. Surabaya Dock of 3,500 tons service 90 ships for 294 days. In 1919 the dock was busy for 92 ships on 323 days. In 1920 this was 47 ships for 359 days.
The years 1921-1925 were rather bad for DMS, and so the dock had little to do. The years 1926-1929 saw a vast expansion of the company. It succeeded in attracting most of the maintenance work for Dutch local shipping companies, which previously preferred to have their maintenance done abroad. Some foreign ships even visited Surabaya just for docking,
something unimaginable before WW I.
The great depression led to some very depressed years for DMS. In the early years it especially hit the 3,500 and 1,400 tons docks of the company. From 1931-1935 there was no dividend. Over 1936 only a small dividend of 2.5%. Over 1937 a more normal divided of 5% was paid to the shareholders.
World War II
World War II was an extremely busy time for all shipyards in allied territory. This was also true for the dry dock company Surabaya, which built a lot of ships, and was engaged in the desperate attempts to build up the defense of the Dutch East Indies. In March 1942 the Dutch attempted to destroy the naval facilities in Surabaya.
The late 1940s
During the whole of 1947 the dry dock was again in use by DMS. In 1948 some major maintenance and repairs on the dock were started. In May 1949 the repairs on ''Surabaya Dock of 3,500 tons'' were complete.
In March 1955 ''Surabaya Dock of 3,500 tons'' sank. It was expected to be back in operation c. August 1956. In January 1956 it was actually recovered, and in December 1956 it was again ready for service.
By 1958 the Indonesian military had taken control of DMS in Indonesia. In September 1959 the dry dock company in Indonesia was officially nationalized by the Indonesian government, with start date 3 December 1957.
The end
After nationalization DMS became PT. Dok & Perkapalan Surabaya (DPS) (In English: PT. Dock and Shipping Surabaya (Persero)). Surabaya Dock of 3,500 tons might have continued in use for decades.
Notes
References
*
{{Dry docks in Indonesia
Dry docks in Indonesia
Floating drydocks of Droogdok Maatschappij Soerabaja