Maritime engineers, designers and clients from the South West and beyond were presented with a wide-ranging overview of the challenges and solutions for maintaining maritime structures, at a seminar on Exeter on 23rd March.
Maritime engineers, designers and clients from the South West and beyond were presented with a wide-ranging overview of the challenges and solutions for maintaining maritime structures, at a seminar on Exeter on 23rd March. The event was organised by the Institution of Civil Engineers SW Region and co-sponsored by PIANC – The World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure - a global network of professional engineers, public authorities and governments founded in Brussels in 1885 to share technical experience and provide international guidance in engineering for navigation. It was chaired and introduced by Mike Thorn, a member of the ICE Regional Team who for 14 years has been the UK Government representative to PIANC.
The seminar opened with graphic descriptions and illustrations from Roland Pyzer, (URS) and Mike Hodgson (BAM Nuttall) of the difficulties and risks involved in the structural inspection of the UK lighthouses, and in particular how the Needles Lighthouse has been underpinned and reinforced against the relentless buffeting of the sea. Kimble West and Mark Musgrave (Bridgezone) showed how difficult underwater inspections can be, with stories of danger and death when precautions were not taken. The particular challenges of ensuring long life and perpetual readiness of the coastal lifeboat stations through good design and effective maintenance were described by Howard Richings and Adam Littlejohn (RNLI).
Repair and restoration of old and modern structures were highlighted. Robert Walker (URS) described in detail how a container terminal quay deck in Hong Kong was refurbished and retro-fitted with cathodic protection, while Steve Hold and Ana Ulanovsky (Arup) showed how a failing historic masonry breakwater wall in Jersey has been effectively strengthened and stabilised by a clever use of expanding ties that are invisible to the eye.
Dredging for navigability is nearly always an issue in ports and marinas. Will Shields (Westminster Dredging) presented an overview of machinery and methods now used in a wide variety of situations, while Martin Maloney (Anthony Bates Partnership) explained, with many examples, how marinas need to be designed so that it is possible to removed accumulated sediments from beneath the pontoons. Rob Kirby (Ravensrodd Consultants) showed examples of research and application of advanced methods which are being adopted with success in some German ports to minimise the need for expensive dredging in port approaches.
This was a great opportunity for the maritime civil engineering community in the South West to exchange experience and ideas in the constant battle against the depredations of the marine environment, and to gain an insight into the ingenuity and bravery that engineers apply to maintain maritime structures and facilities.
Mike Thorn
29 March 2012