Building berth

A building berth is the inclined or level ground position where a ship hull is assembled before launch, the older inclined form being a slipway and the modern form a level building dock or a paved berth served by transfer systems. Blocks are laid on keel blocks and side supports along the centerline, joined and welded up the erection sequence, then released at launch. The berth dimensions, gradient, and crane coverage set the maximum hull size a yard can build. On an inclined slipway the hull slides on greased ways at launch; a graving dock floods instead. Berth occupancy time drives newbuilding throughput and is the constraint a yard plans its order book around.