Applications

Ports & Harbours

Leaders in scour protection for ports and harbours

Approaches to many of the big European ports in Holland, Belgium and Germany incorporate asphaltic materials in their coastal defences. Our links with the port authorities arising from such work have led to harbour protection contracts, often in partnership with Bitumarin bv.

Scour protection system applied to the deepening of Rotterdam Harbour

The Port of Rotterdam Harbour Authorities commissioned deepening of the bottom profile of the container terminal adjacent to 1,330 m of quay wall in Europeharbour, part of Europort. A conventional rip-rap layer appropriate for local current velocity would have exceeded the available depth. The alternative was prefabricated OSA mattresses - a new application for technology established in river stabilisation and coastal protection work.

Installation had to mesh with the facility's complex logistics in which shipping activities took precedence in a terminal operating 24x7x52. Working on sections of quay as they became available depended upon close co-operation with the container operator's planning department.

• Specialist mix designs and quality control ensured by pre-contract research and laboratory trials
• 110 mattresses (20.5x11.4x0.2m) x 92 tonnes
• Installation at 16m depth used a special lifting frame, assisted by divers
• Continuity of protection ensured by sealing gaps (mattress/quay and mattress/mattress) with asphaltic mastic
• Mastic delivered from regular asphalt works as 'half-product' with remaining bitumen added on site in large mixing kettles
• Project completed on time - 28 weeks design and formulation, 22 weeks on site

Separating production and installation was a key to meeting deadlines. OSA mattresses - pre-fabricated on pontoons at a nearby harbour - were ready for the next installation opportunity.

Please click on the links below to review recent projects:

• Replacement of underwater hardstanding, Baglan Bay, Port Talbot
• Europort, Rotterdam
• Terminal Pacifico, Valparaiso, Chile
• Vulcaanhaven, Rotterdam