Your intermediate survey is due in six weeks. The nearest dry dock quotes a slot three months out. The vessel is trading and earning right now.

That deadlock feels absolute. It rarely is. Ship repair in the UK is far more distributed and flexible than most schedules assume. A large share of the work operators book dry docks for does not strictly need one.

This page maps where UK repair capability actually sits. It sets out what class rules require and when. It explains how to choose between dry-docking and afloat repair, and how to pick a contractor who holds the date.

What is ship repair?

Ship repair is the maintenance, overhaul and structural renewal of a vessel’s hull, machinery, electrical systems and coatings. It covers planned work driven by classification and statutory surveys, and unplanned work after damage or defects. Repairs take place in a dry dock, alongside at a berth, or at sea.

Four words get used loosely in this sector. They buy very different things.

• Maintenance: routine preventive work that keeps systems in condition.
• Repair: restoring a damaged or worn item to working order.
• Refit: a planned multi-trade package, usually timed to a survey window.
• Conversion: changing what the vessel is or does, such as new cargo systems.

Shipbuilding is a separate discipline. It creates a new vessel from steel plate. Ship repair keeps an existing vessel in class and trading.

How often does a ship have to be dry-docked?

Most classed vessels must have the ship’s bottom inspected twice in any five-year period. Classification rules generally cap the gap between dry-dockings at 36 months. An approved in-water survey can replace the intermediate docking on eligible ships. The renewal survey docking normally cannot be replaced.

The five-year class cycle

Class certification runs on a repeating five-year cycle. Annual surveys happen each year. An intermediate survey falls around the 2.5 year point. A renewal survey, often called the special survey, closes the cycle at five years.

According to the International Maritime Organization, SOLAS Chapter I governs survey and certification. It requires a minimum of two inspections of the ship’s bottom in any five-year period. The International Association of Classification Societies sets the conditions for in-water surveys. Unified Requirement Z3 allows one to replace the intermediate docking on eligible ships.

Scope grows with vessel age. A first special survey is a different animal from a fourth. Thickness measurement, tank internals and coating condition drive most of the steel work.

When the docking interval can be extended

IACS Recommendation No. 133 sets out an Extended Dry-Docking scheme. Qualifying vessels can run two consecutive in-water surveys instead of a docking. That stretches the interval from five years to 7.5 years.

Approval comes from the classification society and the flag state together. Eligibility is tight. Age limits apply, several ship types are excluded, and an approved hull maintenance scheme is a condition.

The half that never appears on the schedule

Planned surveys are only one side of the ledger. Damage, class conditions and port state control deficiencies drive the rest. None of them wait for a convenient window.

Reactive work is where dock availability hurts most. You cannot book a slot two years ahead for a defect found on a Friday afternoon. This is exactly where afloat repair earns its keep.

Dry dock vs afloat repair: what does your vessel actually need?

Dry-docking is essential for work below the waterline. Almost everything above it can be done afloat, alongside a berth, or under way. The table below splits a typical repair scope by what genuinely needs the dock.

Why splitting the scope saves real money

Dock time is the expensive constraint, not the steel. Every day in dock is a day of dock hire, mobilisation cost and lost trading revenue. Cutting the dock scope to only what needs the dock shortens the docking itself.

Good superintendents already run this play instinctively. Few contractors are set up to support it. A yard that owns a dock has no commercial reason to shrink your time in it.

Above-waterline steel renewal is the clearest example. Our marine fabrication and steel renewal teams complete this work alongside, while the vessel stays in the water. The same applies to marine mechanical engineering and marine electrical engineering scopes.

Where afloat repair has limits

Afloat work carries real constraints, and pretending otherwise helps nobody. Weather stops hot work. Tidal berths impose access windows.

Surveyors from class still have to attend. Gas-free certification and hot work permits govern every tank entry. Access can be tighter than an open dock floor.

None of that removes the advantage. It just means the scope split needs an honest technical assessment, not a default assumption. Get that assessment before you book the dock, not after.

Where ship repair happens in the UK

UK ship repair capability clusters around seven regions. Each one grew around a different trade and still reflects it.

1. Scotland: the Clyde, Rosyth, Aberdeen and Leith
2. The North East: the Tyne, the Wear and the Tees
3. The Humber: Hull and Immingham
4. The Thames and Medway
5. The Solent: Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight
6. The South West: Falmouth and Plymouth
7. Northern Ireland: Belfast

Scotland

Scotland carries a heavy naval and defence workload, concentrated around Rosyth. Commercial dry docks are spread across the central belt and the north east coast. Fishing, ferry and offshore support vessels make up much of the day to day work. EAP Ltd operates from Rosyth and Glasgow.

The North East

England’s North East remains the historic heart of UK commercial ship repair. The Tyne, Wear and Tees hold several dry docks and deep fabrication capability. Offshore energy work overlaps heavily with marine repair here. Our North East facilities and Peterlee site support both sectors.

The Humber

Hull and Immingham sit directly on North Sea shipping routes. That position makes the Humber a natural first call for vessels needing quick attention. Dry dock capacity exists, and mobile teams cover vessels berthed across the estuary. See our Hull operation.

The Thames and Medway

Thames and Medway capability leans towards slipways and wet berths rather than large graving docks. Proximity to the Channel and to Thames traffic is the draw. Response times to vessels in the southern North Sea are short. Our non-tidal wet berth at Chatham sits here.

The Solent

Southampton and Portsmouth pack commercial, naval and leisure capability into a small area. Solent access is fast and sheltered. Cruise, ferry and defence work dominates the mix. We work from Southampton.

The South West

Falmouth offers deep water and large dock capability, and it is the natural first UK port for Atlantic traffic. Plymouth adds naval and commercial repair capacity. Both matter for vessels that cannot wait to reach the North Sea. Find our Falmouth and Plymouth teams here.

Northern Ireland

Belfast holds large dock capability and heavy industrial engineering. Work skews towards major projects, defence and offshore energy. It is the largest single facility footprint on the island.

How to choose a ship repair company in the UK

Seven questions separate a contractor who holds the date from one who does not. Ask all of them before the quote arrives.

8. Can they come to you, or must you go to them? Mobilisation is often the biggest hidden cost in a quote.
9. Are the operatives class-approved for your scope? Ask which society approved them and for what. Take the certificates, not the claim.
10. Do they have people free in your window? The best yard with no slot is no yard at all.
11. Do they work around the clock? Continuous shift working can halve an out-of-service window.
12. Is there one point of accountability? One contractor beats six subcontractors and a coordination problem.
13. Have they done your vessel type? Ferries, Ro/Ro, dredgers, workboats and MoD vessels each carry their own traps.
14. What does their safety record look like? Check accreditations and incident statistics, not the marketing page.

No single criterion decides it. Availability and mobilisation usually decide it in practice. Price rarely does, because the schedule cost dwarfs the repair cost.

EAP Ltd ship repair services

EAP Ltd is not a shipyard, and that is the point. We bring class-approved marine engineers to your vessel wherever it sits. We also run a dedicated ship repair berth when you need one. Work is delivered on fixed price terms, which is the answer to budget variance.

A non-tidal wet berth at Chatham

Our Chatham berth is non-tidal and dedicated to ship repair. It serves local operators and responds to vessels across the English Channel and North Sea.

Tidal yards plan work around the water. Ours does not. Shifts run continuously, staging stays put, and nobody loses half a day waiting for the tide. On a two-week repair that difference is measured in days, not hours.

Ten locations across the UK and EU

We operate from Chatham, Falmouth, Glasgow, Hull, the North East, Peterlee, Plymouth, Rosyth, Southampton and Constanța in Romania. See all ten UK and EU locations.

Coverage matters because mobilisation cost tracks distance. A team two hours from your berth costs less and starts sooner than one flown in. That is the whole argument for a distributed network.

Services run from ship repair and conversion to barge mobilisation and demob. Dredger, Ro/Ro and ferry maintenance, lock gate overhaul and harbour works all sit within scope. Wind farm support and marine scaffolding do too.

Riding squads and voyage repairs

Some work does not need a yard at all. Our global riding squads join your vessel in port or under way and complete repairs while it earns. You lose no trading days.

Class-approved labour for your own yard

Already chosen your dock? We supply skilled labour, tools and materials directly into it. Our resource management service exists for exactly this. Where drawings are needed, our design and drawing support team handles them.

One customer summed up the result after a recent refit: “Safety attitude towards myself and my team has been faultless. I am keeping Marion and Alec for the foreseeable future as we have a few more projects.”

More recent project work is on our news page.

Ship repair FAQs

How often does a ship have to be dry-docked?

Classification rules generally require dry-docking at intervals not exceeding 36 months. SOLAS requires at least two inspections of the ship’s bottom in any five-year period. An approved in-water survey can replace the intermediate docking on eligible vessels. The renewal survey docking normally cannot.

What is the difference between dry dock and afloat ship repair?

A dry dock lifts the vessel clear of the water. Hull, propeller, shaft, rudder and sea valve work can then proceed. Afloat repair happens with the vessel in the water. It covers above-waterline steel, tanks, machinery, pipework and electrical work, usually faster and without a dock slot.

Where can I get a ship repaired in the UK?

Capability sits in seven UK regions. They are Scotland, the North East, the Humber, the Thames and Medway, the Solent, the South West and Belfast. Mobile marine engineering contractors also attend vessels at most UK ports. That means no dry dock booking is needed for many repair scopes.

What is a riding squad?

Riding squads are teams of marine engineers and coded welders who join a vessel in port or under way. They complete repairs while the ship keeps trading, instead of taking it out of service. Operators use them to clear maintenance backlogs without losing revenue days.

What does class-approved mean in ship repair?

Class-approved means a welder or procedure has been assessed and approved by a classification society. Lloyd’s Register and DNV are two examples. Repairs affecting hull structure or machinery generally must use approved personnel and approved procedures for class to stay valid.

The right question is not which dock

The dock slot is not the only route to a repaired vessel. UK repair capability is more distributed and more mobile than the calendar suggests. The real question is what your scope genuinely requires, and who can bring it to your berth.

Tell us the vessel, the location and the window. We will tell you straight whether it needs a dock. Get in touch with the EAP Ltd team or call +44 (0)1634 827369.

What is holding up your next docking: the slot, the scope, or the budget?