Elbe 17 is the third largest

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, ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, located in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

(

) and administrated by shipbuilding company

Blohm + Voss Blohm is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Hans Blohm C.M. (born 1927), photographer and author * Hermann Blohm (1848–1930), German businessman and co-founder of German company Blohm+Voss * Irma Blohm (1909–1997), German pol ...

. Completed in 1942 at a length of 351 meters and a width of 59 meters. It was originally intended for the construction of the massive H-class battleships. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it was used for repair work only and also served as an air shelter (housing up to 6000 people). After the war, the huge floatable metal gate was scrapped and the dock served as a berth. The British occupation forces originally planned to demolish the dock in January 1950, but popular protests and fears that the demolition would damage the nearby tunnel under the Elbe caused the dock to be preserved.Die Zeit, May 1950
/ref> On December 12, 1967, construction of a new gate was completed and the first ship to enter the dock was the 190,000 ton tanker . Today, the dock is primarily used for refurbishing and repairing ships, although it can also be used for the construction of new vessels. The dock was notably used to perform maintenance on very large ships such as the container ship '' Sovereign Maersk'' (347 m long and 42.8 m wide), the cruise ship ''

Freedom of the Seas Freedom of the seas is a principle in the law of the sea. It stresses freedom to navigate the oceans. It also disapproves of war fought in water. The freedom is to be breached only in a necessary international agreement. This principle was on ...

'' (339 m long, 56 m wide), and the ''

Queen Mary 2 RMS ''Queen Mary 2'' (''QM2'') is a British ocean liner. She has served as the flagship of the Cunard Line since April 2004, and as of 2025, is the only active, purpose-built ocean liner still in service. ''Queen Mary 2'' sails regular transat ...

'' (66,000 t, 345 m long, 41 m wide) File:The passenger ship Queen Elizabeth arriving Port of Hamburg.jpg, The

Cunard The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...

passenger ship ''Queen Elizabeth'' arrives in Hamburg. File:The ship turns at high tide without tug assistance, the dock is now ahead.jpg, The ship turns towards the dry dock at high tide without tug assistance File:Extremely carefully navigate the port pilots the ship with the help of bow and stern thrusters to the correct position.jpg, With the help of harbour pilots, its

Azipod Azipod is a trademarked azimuth thruster pod design, a marine propulsion unit consisting of a fixed pitch propeller mounted on a steerable gondola ("pod") containing the electric motor driving the propeller, allowing ships to be more maneuverab ...

propulsion, and stern thrusters, the ship moves into the correct position. File:With death slow ahead against water flooding the ship comes closer to Elbe 17 dry dock.jpg, Moving forward very slowly (against the tide), the ship approaches the dry dock. File:Northeast wind pushes the stern of the ship to port, now the Azipod control system powerful is used.jpg, The Azipod system holds the ship in position against a wind from the north-east. File:Now the ship is in the correct central position and can enter into the flooded dock.jpg, Now the ship is in the correct position and can enter the flooded dock. File:Finally, the liner Queen Elizabeth slowly slides into the dock.jpg, The ''Queen Elizabeth'' slowly slides into the dock File:The gate of dock Elbe 17 is closed, the maintenance and repair work on the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth have started.jpg, The gate of the dry dock is closed, and maintenance work can begin.

References

External links

{{Blohm + Voss Buildings and structures in Hamburg-Mitte Economy of Hamburg Drydocks Military installations of the Kriegsmarine