HMS Gävle at Muskö
Posted Thursday, January 21, 2010
Docking the RSwN corvette HMS Gävle in the Muskö facility is a precision job.
RSwN corvette HMS Gävle docks at Muskö
At six minutes to eight on a weekday morning, Dockmaster Anders Eriksson and his colleagues open the gate to Dock 2 at Kockums’ Muskö facility. The rest of the day in this cavernous facility will be devoted to the annual inspection of corvettes HMS Sundsvall and HMS Gävle. The team entrusted with the task comprises a group of highly experienced professionals. Anything less would be unthinkable, given the demand for absolute precision. A single mistake could be disastrous.
The docking process is conducted by the ships’ crews without incident. The corvettes are berthed in the rock cavern stern to stern. This makes it easier to move between them during the inspection process. The corvettes are an impressive sight, filling the rock chamber.
The Muskö naval maintenance facility has been blasted out of solid rock, with a view to resisting nuclear attack. The area it covers is equivalent to the whole of that covered by Stockholm’s Gamla Stan (the Old Town). It comprises both docks and engineering workshops. Dock 1 is the largest dock in the Muskö facility. The entire tunnel stretches for 245 metres, the dock itself being 145 metres long.
Page updated Monday, January 18, 2010.
