The only tourist attraction that does draw crowds is the huge hydraulic ship lift at Niederfinow.

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The Vanguard will have 50% greater lifting capacity and 70% greater deck area than the largest heavy lift ship now in service, the Blue Marlin, also owned by Dockwise, which can lift 73, 000 tonnes.

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The company makes industrial disc brakes, for such things as 2.5km lifts taking South African miners to and from their seams, and for a ship's lift on the Yangtse river.

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The tide at 10:00 GMT was sufficient to lift the ship from the sandbank, and it made its way safely to Mostyn Port.

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If a cable does fail, a repair ship is dispatched to lift both ends to the surface using grappling hooks and fuse the ends back together a slow, expensive process.

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Combine that with the fact that the Ocean Atlas is a ship of rare capabilities, with cranes that can lift 400 tons, and the ship becomes a rare prize for Chavez indeed.

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At certain moments the air streamed against the ship as if sucked through a tunnel with a concentrated solid force of impact that seemed to lift her clean out of the water and keep her up for an instant with only a quiver running through her from end to end.

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