Pre-Docking Checklist: What to Prepare Before a Sorong Haul-Out

A Sorong haul-out runs to plan when four things are ready before the vessel moves: the paperwork the facility will ask for, the work list agreed in writing, the parts and paint already in Sorong, and the vessel herself prepared for the cradle. This checklist covers all four, in the order a well-run docking deals with them — because on the hard, every forgotten item costs a day, and days on the slip are the scarcest commodity in eastern Indonesia.

Paperwork: what to have in the folder

Facilities and port authorities in Sorong will expect a predictable set of documents, and chasing any of them after arrival wastes slip time:

• Vessel registration and tonnage certificate.
• Insurance documentation, including any yard-liability requirements your policy imposes.
• Crew list and identity documents for everyone staying aboard on the hard.
• The agreed work scope and any survey requirements tied to it.
• A docking plan or lines drawing — the single document that most reliably speeds up cradle preparation.

If a classification or insurance survey is part of the docking, confirm the surveyor’s availability against the slot before the slot is fixed, not after. Surveyor and slipway calendars do not consult each other.

The work list: agree it before the boat is on the hard

The most expensive sentence in any docking is “while we are here, can you also…”. Not because extra work is wrong — bundling jobs into one docking is exactly right — but because unplanned additions discovered on the hard arrive without parts, without the right trades booked, and with the clock running. Walk the vessel with the crew a month out and write the full list: hull cleaning and coating, anodes, seacocks and valves, stern gear inspection, transducers, rudder bearings, topside touch-ups, and the survey items if due. Then send the list ahead, so labour and materials are matched to it. Items that commonly get missed until too late: anode stock in the correct alloys and sizes, seacock spares, and the paint scheme itself — premium coatings are freight items in Sorong, not shelf items, a point covered in choosing antifouling for high-fouling tropical waters.

Parts and materials: in Sorong before the boat is

Every component the work list needs should physically be in Sorong before the vessel comes out. The freight realities — customs, airline cargo schedules into Domine Eduard Osok, and the last leg to the yard — mean that ordering a shaft seal after the shaft is exposed converts a two-day job into a two-week occupation of the slip. Work backwards from the slot date: paint and anodes are bulky sea-freight candidates wanting the most lead time; gaskets, seals and instruments can fly; and anything genuinely urgent has an express path whose cost only makes sense when the alternative is idle slip days. A parts list sent with the work list lets the desk stage everything through the spares and logistics channel for Sorong against the docking date.

Preparing the vessel herself

• Tanks and weight — arrive with fuel and water at the levels the docking plan assumes. Trim changes where the hull bears on the cradle.
• Ship’s gear — lash or land anything that objects to a five-degree list and the occasional bump; glassware, dive cylinders and workshop shelves top the breakage list.
• Systems — plan for no overboard discharge from the moment she is lifted: holding tank capacity, galley arrangements, and where the crew will shower. Seawater-cooled refrigeration and air-conditioning stop on the hard unless flushing arrangements are made.
• Crew arrangements — decide who lives aboard on the cradle and who moves ashore; a boat full of idle guests on a working hardstand suits nobody.
• Photographs — shoot the topsides and bottom at the last clean, so post-docking condition has a baseline.

Underwater housekeeping before the passage

A short diver visit in the last fortnight pays for itself twice. First, a gentle hull clean means the pressure wash on the slip takes an hour instead of a day, and the surveyor or paint foreman sees the true surface immediately. Second, the diver’s photographs of stern gear, anodes and any known trouble spots let the yard confirm the work scope against reality before the vessel arrives — the difference between a cradle prepared for what is actually coming and one adjusted after she is hanging over it.

The last week: confirmations that prevent surprises

Seven days out, confirm four things in writing: the slot date and tide window with the facility; the arrival draft and trim against the docking plan; the labour and trades booked against the work list; and the arrival logistics for any freight still moving. Then plan the passage from Raja Ampat with margin — arriving a day early to anchor off costs nothing, while missing a tide window can cost the slot. Which lifting method the vessel is booked onto, and what each method demands, is explained in the haul-out methods explainer; the coordination itself — slot negotiation, facility matching and the docking plan — is what the Sorong docking desk exists to do, and the overall sequence from first message to splash-down is described in how a job runs with the desk.

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Docking coordination contracts are issued by PT Komodo Galangan Nusantara. All quotations are stated in USD.

Frequently asked questions

How far in advance should a Sorong haul-out be prepared?

Start the work list and parts ordering a month out; confirm slot, trades and freight a week out. Slip slots and sea-freighted materials carry the longest lead times and set the schedule.

What documents does a Sorong facility require on arrival?

Registration, insurance, crew list, the agreed work scope and ideally a docking plan. Survey documentation joins the folder when a class or insurance survey shares the docking.

Can the crew live aboard during the docking?

Commonly yes, with limits: no overboard discharge, ladder access, and a working hardstand around them. Many crews split — a watchkeeping core aboard, the rest ashore — for everyone’s comfort.

What gets forgotten most often before a haul-out?

Anodes in the right sizes, seacock spares, and the paint itself. All three are freight items in Sorong, and each one discovered missing on the hard converts directly into idle slip days.