A crane hoists a steel cylinder spike or "Spud" into the air as part of a spud barge construction at Kuwaiti Naval Base in the Persian Gulf on July 12, 2017. The barges will help increase and speed up traffic to the facility. (U.S. ... VIEW ORIGINAL
Soldiers look on as crane hoists a steel cylinder spike or "Spud" into the air as part of a spud barge construction at Kuwaiti Naval Base in the Persian Gulf on July 12, 2017. The barges will help increase and speed up traffic to th... VIEW ORIGINAL
Workers help guide a steel cylinder spike or "Spud" into place as part of a spud barge construction at Kuwaiti Naval Base in the Persian Gulf on July 12, 2017. The barges will help increase and speed up traffic to the facility. (U.S... VIEW ORIGINAL
A crane gets ready to drop a steel cylinder spike or "Spud" into the ocean floor as part of a spud barge construction at Kuwaiti Naval Base in the Persian Gulf on July 12, 2017. The barges will help increase and speed up traffic to ... VIEW ORIGINAL
Workers ready the next steel cylinder spike or "Spud" to be picked up by a crane as part of a spud barge construction at Kuwaiti Naval Base in the Persian Gulf on July 12, 2017. The barges will help increase and speed up traffic to ... VIEW ORIGINAL
KUWATI NAVAL BASE, KUWAIT -- We all love the hunt for that perfect parking spot, but when the lots full you'll pretty much take what you can get. When it comes to the Kuwati Naval Base dock they are just that full, so the U.S. Army and Kuwati Navy worked together on a plan to make more space by using two floating docks called "Spud Barges".
To make more room for incoming vessels a plan was implemented to use spud barges to increase the amount of dock space on the naval facility. These floating docks use two long cylindrical steel pipes or"spuds" to hold the 40 foot by 240 foot dock in place. The spuds are driven through holes in the floating deck into the sea floor for stability.
"This project provides the U.S. Army along with the rest of the Coalition forces and Kuwait Navy more berthing for vessels inside the harbor to better accommodate for their missions," U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Jason Trusky 201st Harbor Master Operation Detachment, said.
The steel pipes allow the spud barge to rise and fall with the tide so ships can easily dock when coming into port. Once fully installed a gangway on rollers will be equipped to allow people to exit the ships once properly docked.
"I hope that these barges will boast the efficiency of vessel traffic in and out of the port and decrease wait time for vessels who are awaiting pier space" Trusky said. As of right now the spud barges are a temporary fix and no one is sure how long they may stay in use.
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