Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center's (MARMC) dynamic dry dock (AFDL 6) began preparations for a continuous maintenance availability (CMAV) set to begin April 6 at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia.

Repairs and maintenance will be performed on the dry dock during the 21-day CMAV, including lagging, tanks, saltwater booster pumps and ballast valves.

The availability will be complete roughly one month before Dynamic's evaluation for its three-year performance certification.

"Our crew has done a great job of being self-sufficient and jumping on many of the repairs we need performed ahead of the CMAV beginning," said Dynamic Commanding Officer Lt. Cmdr. Shawn Gibson. "This is a big time saver for us and will help minimize our down time during the availability."

Once maintenance and repairs are completed, Dynamic will be ready to host Naval Sea Systems Command's (NAVSEA) evaluation team who will perform a deep dive on all aspects of Dynamic's functionality.

"When NAVSEA comes, they give us a thorough inspection on our operations, administration, our crew members and dry dock's qualifications, as well as an evaluation of the recent maintenance that has been performed," said Gibson. "With the help of Kevin Baum [MARMC docking/ naval architect] and MARMC's Naval Architecture and Damage Control Branch, we were able to do a mock certification on our administration side of the house. They helped us dig through our documentation and made sure everything was in order for a satisfactory report."

Baum and his team performed preliminary checks of the dry dock's tanks, pumps and valves. With the exception of a few minor discrepancies, Dynamic has been well maintained and is prepared for the visit from NAVSEA.

Dynamic's mission is to provide scheduled and emergent dry-dock services for Mid-Atlantic Region ships and small craft. Since 2011, Dynamic has been the only Navy-operated floating dry dock in commission.

Dynamic will resume normal functions the first week of June, when it will dock craft for routine maintenance from U.S. Navy Seabees stationed at Little Creek. The dry dock is also the subject of discussions with Carrier Strike Group 4, to aid in the repairs needed by vessels within the group.

"We have a lot of important business on the horizon and it is going to quickly pick up during the spring and summer," said Gibson. "Our crew is very accomplished and always exceeds the minimum standards. They will be ready for the challenges that are brought along with the next series of dockings we perform."

For more news from Norfolk Ship Support Activity, visit www.navy.mil/.