Trial of smart marina technology

Apartnership between MDL Marinas and innovative marine digitalisation firm Falco and its marina management software provider, Havenstar, has enabled MDL to trial smart marina technology at its Queen Anne’s Battery marina. As part of its digital transformation, MDL is running a pilot programme using Falco’s Smart Marina wireless technology to detect occupancy in real time on the visitor pontoon at its Plymouth-based marina.

This exciting new digital tool will enable MDL to automate parts of its operational processes, maximising availability of visitor berthing and freeing up the marina teams to spend more time on the pontoons, meeting and greeting customers, to improve the quality of the marina

Three-year marina rebuild in Sweden

Since 1979, Önnereds Båtlag (Önnereds Boat Club) has been a coastal refuge for city-dwelling boat-owners in nearby Gothenburg, Sweden. The club recently finished an ambitious three-year renovation to its large 435 m pontoon layout with the help of SF Marina.

SF Pontona Sweden, a fully owned subsidiary of SF Marina, sold and installed the four floating concrete pontoons used in the marina. While the North Sea waters around Önnereds Båtlag, on the South-West Coast, have nominal tidal fluctuations and are naturally protected from storms, the docks are virtually unsinkable, with exceptional stability. They’re moored with chains and concrete anchors. Utilities such as power and water are routed through internal ducts in the pontoons and terminate in El-Björn Alfa-II pedestals. The docks utilise 210 galvanised steel Y-finger booms of various lengths between 4.5 m and 10 m. Their narrow width allows for a greater number of boats to dock in a given space when compared to traditional aluminum or concrete fingers. Over 70% of recreational boats in Sweden are under six metres long, so by choosing this option Önnereds Båtlag was able to maximise its capacity to 285 slips.

With Y-boom fingers, boat-owners access their vessels from the bow or stern because the booms themselves are too narrow for safe passage. On Önnereds Båtlag’s outer dock, walkable versions provide a more customary approach. Both versions have large plastic floats on the end to keep them in place.

Less than nine miles from Gothenburg, Önnereds Båtlag offers dock space for boats up to 11 m with 3.75 m beams. Open from MidApril until the end of October, the naturalised venue offers a clubhouse, 26 boatsheds and provision for Winter storage.

experience for berth-holders and customers alike.

As part of the trial to connect the marina office, staff and boaters digitally, a small wireless sensor has been installed on each of the visitor berths at Queen Anne’s Battery marina to detect boat movements. Via the Falco data gathering interface, this occupancy information will be sent to the Havenstar marina management system so the marina team is fully aware of berth availability and can allocate visitor berthing accordingly. The interconnection between Falco’s smart marina solution with MDL’s marina management software also enables a request to be sent to a berth-holder asking them to identify how long they will be away for once they’ve departed from their berth, further enhancing the efficiency of marina space for visiting yachts and motorboats, and ensuring the berth is clear again when they return.

With the trial now underway, MDL’s Queen Anne’s Battery Marina is the first marina in the UK to trial Falco’s wireless data gathering solution. Over 2,000 have been deployed across marinas in France with encouraging results.

Principally known for its design, construction and installation of marinas, Walcon Marine has taken part in an important conservation project in the Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) Chichester Harbour. The project required the services of the Walcon Wizard and Walcon Warrior barges, which normally deliver and assist in the installation of the company’s pontoons, bridges and other equipment, as well as piling.

The project involved transporting 500 tonnes of shingle to Stakes Island, a man-made ridge of mud and shingle located South of the Chidham Peninsula in Chichester Harbour. It has become a breeding site for a range of sea birds and the shingle is enough to raise it to one metre above the current high water level and so help boost tern breeding by creating a more favourable habitat. The project was undertaken as part of the ‘Return of the Tern’ project, a partnership nature recovery initiative undertaken by the Friends of Chichester Harbour and Chichester Harbour Conservancy.

Jessica on the Southern Coastal Plain, said: “The Walcon team was instrumental in the success of the works and they were professional throughout their contract with us. This type of habitat restoration hasn’t been done on this scale in the harbour before and extra care and attention was needed in the planning phase. The company understood the unique habitat they were working in and worked with the Chichester Harbour Conservancy team to ensure the work was completed safely and with minimal disturbance to wildlife and harbour users”.

James Walters, Managing Director of Walcon, said: “We were very pleased to be able to assist with this sensitive project. Our barges are highly versatile and have proven to be valuable platforms that have provided support to a range projects involving not only floating infrastructure, but also the movement and deployment of other payloads in and around coastal environments”.

Exceptional NPS results for D-Marin facilities

D-Marin, a premium selection of marinas, has commended four of its marinas across Greece, Turkey and Croatia for their Net Promoter Scores (NPS), a measure to gauge customer loyalty and satisfaction, at its annual NPS awards.

Mandalina Marina in Sibenik, Croatia, Lefkas Marina in Lefkas, Greece, Turgutreis Marina near Bodrum, Turkey, and Zea Marina in Piraeus, Greece, have all been recognised as leading examples of premier customer satisfaction across the D-Marin Group.

‘Best NPS Greece’ was awarded to Lefkas Marina, the D-Marin flagship Turguteris Marina won ‘Best NPS Turkiye’, whilst Mandalina Marina was awarded ‘Best NPS Croatia’ and ‘Best Transient NPS’, in recognition of the marina’s service towards short-stay customers. Athens-based Zea Marina was the overall winner of the ‘Best NPS Score’.

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Boost for marine leisure in UAE

At the Dubai International Boat Show (DIBS) on 2 March, a significant event took place as Abeer Al Shaali, the Chairperson of the Leisure Marine Association (MENA), and Captain Abdullah Alhayyas, the Director of the Maritime Transport Affairs Department at the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, signed an MoU to form a partnership that will accelerate the growth of the marine leisure industry in the UAE.

The ceremony was attended by H.E. Hessa Al Malek, Executive Director of the Maritime Sector at the Federal Transportation Authority for Land and Maritime, and the Board of Directors of the MENA. Their presence was a testament to the significance of the event and the importance of the collaboration between the government and private sectors.

Exciting new restaurant opens at Torquay Marina

Berth-holders, visitors and tenants at MDL’s Torquay Marina can now eat, drink and unwind at Otto, the marina’s new on-site bar and restaurant.

This exciting new eatery, with a distinct Mediterranean feel, is located at Unit 8 on Vaughan Road in the marina, with its location inspiring its name – Otto means eight in Italian.

Since 1963 Walcon has proven itself to be a worldwide leader in the design, construction and installation of marinas and berthing facilities, with renowned quality and first class service.