Italian development

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS AT RAVENNA

A programme of major developments at the Italian Adriatic port of Ravenna has been announced that will include dredging and quay development

The Port of Ravenna is the only port serving the EmiliaRomagna Region of Northern Italy as well as being the port that services much of Italy’s off shore oil and gas industry that is located close off shore.

The port comprises shipyards, multipurpose terminals, bulk cargo terminals and a containerized cargo terminal. More recently there have been developments in the outer harbour that include a cruise ship terminal and one of the largest marinas on the Adriatic coast.

The major contract for the construction of what will be known as the Ravenna Port Hub has been awarded to a consortium that includes Dredging International, a subsidiary company of the Belgian contractor DEME and Italian construction company Consorzio Stabile Grandi Lavori. The tender requirements were announced a year ago and the contract award follows a tender procedure for the Ravenna Port Hub. With a total value of €197,8 million the project is financed by the Italian Inter-ministerial Committee for Economic Planning (CIPE), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union and the Port System Authority.

The basic requirement of the contract is to develop the necessary port infrastructure which will allow the port to handle larger vessels of 75,000dwt and containerships of up to 8,000TEU, as well as higher traffic volumes. This in turn is expected to have significant socioeconomic effects in the region.

According to DEME the dredging work is due to get underway in the first quarter of 2021. This dredging work is aimed to deepen the entrance channel from its current maintained depth of 10.5 metres to 12.5 metres. This first phase of the project includes the excavation of 5 million cubic metres of sediments in the both the outer and inner channels to create the deeper channel. Included in the project will be the reconstruction of the existing quays over a length of 6.5 kilometres to allow them to adapt to the new channel depths and the construction of a 1,000-metre long quay for the Peninsula Trattaroli.

Currently the Peninsula Trattaroli is an undeveloped area in the port and it is hoped that the new quays will attract further investment.

Southampton’s fi fth cruise terminal nears delivery

8 The dredging

work at Ravenna is due to get underway in the fi rst quarter of 2021

Associated British Ports is to open a new next-generation-ready and open access cruise terminal for the 2021 cruise season in Southampton.

No doubt sitting quite comfortably within the category: ‘Contracts signed before we knew there would be a worldwide pandemic’, the fifth dedicated cruise terminal at the port will benefit from roof-mounted solar power and will also have Shore Power connectivity installed. This further commitment to sustainable operations at the port will enable cruise ships, with the right onboard technology, to ‘plug in’ while they are alongside, helping to alleviate some of Southampton’s currently problematic air quality issues.

In strategic partnership with MSC Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd, the Port of Southampton’s newest terminal will ‘support a developing industry welcoming the next generation of ships in terms of size, capacity and technology’.

8 The projected design of the fi fth

cruise terminal

The project has received support from the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) through the Government’s Getting Building Fund with an £8 million grant.

WIND FARM BASE FOR FÉCAMP

The harbour of Fécamp on the French north coast has been selected as the base for use during the construction and operational phase for the Fécamp off shore wind farm

This new facility will fi rst serve as the construction base for the 500MW wind farm project, with the off shore construction work scheduled to start in 2022. From 2023, the building and facilities will accommodate the wind farm’s operation and maintenance teams.

The development includes pontoon berths for up to three support vessels which will be used to transport maintenance technicians and supplies to the offshore wind turbines. The construction of the maintenance base, which is scheduled to start in December is being carried out by Eiffage, one of the major French civil engineering companies and is expected to be completed in less than fourteen months.

With a surface area of around 2,000m², including 1,200m² for offices and crew and staff facilities and 800m² of warehouse space, the building is located on the Coastal Fishing Quay side on the Grand Quai peninsula in Fécamp harbour. This is close to the harbour entrance and away from the large marina that occupies the western side of the harbour. The harbour has a maintained depth of 3 metres at low water, allowing access for the CTVs at any state of tide. The pontoon work will be carried out by ETPO’s Le Havre agency and the pontoons will be manufactured by Manche Industrie Marine in Dieppe with the CTVs mooring bow-in to allow cargo loading on the foredeck from shore cranes.

It is anticipated that the base will employ around one hundred people during the operating life of the wind farm.

Developed by EDF Renouvelables, Enbridge, and wpd Offshore, the Fécamp offshore wind farm will consist of 71 Siemens Gamesa SWT-7.0-154 wind turbines located from 7 to 11 miles offshore. “This maintenance base for the Fécamp offshore wind farm is the result of long-standing collaborative work with the municipality, local residents, port stakeholders and port users,” said Bertrand Allanic, the Director of the Fécamp offshore wind farm project. This will be one of the first maintenance bases for offshore wind power in France.”

Wavewalker jack-up on site at Dawlish

8 CTVs will moor

bow-in to allow cargo loading on the foredeck from shore cranes

Network Rail has started work on the second section of the new, bigger sea wall at Dawlish, Devon, UK.

Construction of this next section of the £80 million upgrade will take around two years to complete and follows years of detailed studies, designs and joint working between world-leading marine, coastal and railway engineering experts.

The first part, from Dawlish station to the Coastguard breakwater east of the station is expected to be completed in late 2021.The final part between the station and the Colonnade breakwater, which will link up the new wall at Marine Parade, will start to be built shortly after.

A major aspect of this work involves the use of an innovative eight-legged, self-

8 The Wavewalker is the only ’walking’

jack-up of its type in Europe

contained walking jack-up barge, known as a Wavewalker. The Wavewalker is only one of its kind in Europe and it will be the first time this type of barge has been used to maintain the UK rail network.

This innovative piece of equipment will be used by contractors BAM Nuttall to safely access the sea face of the railway embankment along Marine Parade and help deliver the piling at the sea wall. The Wavewalker benefits from being able to operate across high tidal ranges that particularly impact the south Devon coastline, that would otherwise restrict the number of hours it is possible to safely work on the sea wall.

Once complete the 415 metre section of new sea wall will be higher than the existing wall; have a curved edge to send waves back towards the sea; have a high-level, wider and safer promenade; pedestrian access to the beach and an accessible station footbridge with lifts.