The operation requirement of full-balanced vertical ship lift must maintain the full balance of the ship-chamber at all times.Once the balance system is broken,the consequence of running the ship lift will be disastrous. The paper systematically discusses how to level the ship-chamber after tilting from the point of view of safety and economy.The imbalance of ship-chamber can be adjusted via braking and lifting system. In the meantime,the stress and strain of driving system of the ship lift can be released.By adjusting the water level of ship-chamber,the ship-chamber’ s gravity will be greater than that of the counterbalance.By releasing brakes at different partitions,we can lower down the higher position of the ship-chamber and level the tilted ship-chamber.After achieving a basic balance,the ship lift will run automatically on its self-balancing system,and the ship lift will eventually regain a full balance.The case study has solved the problem of leveling after tilting of the ship-chamber and it provides a guidance for the operation and maintenance of similar ship lifts.