The Repulse East Indiaman in East India Dock Basin, Sepr. 25th, 1839

The docks of London had extensive basins at high tide. A basin allowed large numbers of ships to gather together to avoid the delay of going through locks. Dock basins are large docks in which the water is kept at a constant height by lock-gates, and which allow a large number of ships to be loaded and unloaded at all stages of the tide.