Medway testing created immediate repair capacity

Delivery to Bermuda was delayed while the breakwater and berth were completed, so the new dock spent years being tested on the Medway. HMS Sans Pareil served as one of the loads used to prove it. The trials also produced useful work because the dock performed preventive maintenance for Channel Fleet ships while the Admiralty learned how it behaved. Commissioning trials could therefore create practical capacity before infrastructure reached its intended overseas station.