Dock geometry and difficult approaches at Sheerness

Sheerness retained large berths within a layout inherited from an earlier generation of ships. Docks One, Two, and Three have shapes associated here with older practice, although the connection between form and age is disputed. Their approaches from the main entrance are comparatively direct. Dock Four, despite being one of the larger facilities, requires a more difficult move from the River Medway. Dock length alone does not measure capacity: entrance geometry and ship-handling risk can make a nominally useful berth awkward in practice.