Well deck

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A well deck or well dock is a hangar like deck located at the waterline in the stern of some amphibious assault ships. By taking on water the ship can lower its stern, flooding the well deck and allowing boats and amphibious landing craft to dock within the ship. This facilitates moving cargo between the ship and smaller craft during amphibious operations. Well decks are a feature of modern types of amphibious warfare ship such as the amphibious transport dock, dock landing ship and Landing Helicopter Dock.