Boskalis pioneered the innovative float on/float off ship. These ships are extraordinarily useful and have been used many times under contract to the U.S. Navy to retrieve heavily damaged warships for repair.
In world conflict, America will need this capability, but Boskalis is Dutch flag and there’s no guarantee we can use Boskalis ships. The U.S. Navy has two Expeditionary Transfer Docks ships that can kind of be used for this, but they would need re-configuration in a drydock to carry a full size ship.
China now has its own fleet of Boskalis like ships. The one below is also neatly pre-painted for landing helicopters. These ships are meant for one primary purpose by China: supporting the invasion of Pacific Island nations.
