Vanguard floods its ballast tanks so cargo can float over the submerged deck, then empties them to lift loads of up to 110,000 tons for transport. The smaller Blue Marlin carried the damaged USS Cole home, showing how heavy lift can recover a warship unable to make the voyage itself. Carrying a Ford-class aircraft carrier is suggested as a possibility, although the stated 333-meter carrier length exceeds Vanguard's 275 meters and the fit remains uncertain. One proposed safeguard for carrier-operating states is a controlling interest in a nationally registered company owning suitable heavy-lift ships. Only a small number of vessels can handle loads at this scale, and much of the capacity belongs to one Dutch corporate group. Dependable access therefore matters for fleet recovery and the repair of severely damaged ships. The former Dockwise Vanguard has carried the name BOKA Vanguard since 2018.
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Dockwise Vanguard, later BOKA Vanguard, and strategic heavy lift
The semi-submersible Dockwise Vanguard can lift exceptionally large ships, making commercial heavy-lift capacity strategically important for fleet recovery and repair.