A naval dock trades commercial profit for assured readiness

Esquimalt's early workload averaged roughly twenty-one vessels a year, demonstrating that dry-dock time was a scarce and carefully scheduled resource. The dock later experienced a long period out of service largely because maintaining such a facility costs money even when naval demand is intermittent. A fully commercial yard can chase continuous profitable work, but a navy-focused yard may reject a civilian job to guarantee immediate space for an expected warship. The resulting idle interval looks inefficient in commercial accounting while functioning as paid-for readiness and assured access.