Harbour and marina development

The Harbour, Coastal and Offshore Engineering group of Deltares is leading the development and application of research in innovative harbour and marina projects worldwide. Experience obtained in many decades of operation, using state-of-the-art numerical tools and scale-model testing that is leading in technology, has resulted in our strong position and record of accomplishments in this field. Design of ports, terminals, and marinas The design of a new or extended layout of a port or marina requires adequate attention to a large number of marine aspects to guarantee safe and efficient port activities. These include breakwater layout design, revetment types for wave dissipation, wave disturbances reaching berths, currents in the approach channel and inside basins, flushing and water quality, sedimentation and maintenance dredging, navigability, and mooring designs. Deltares provides the broad knowledge of physical processes that is required for considering the complex hydrodynamic issues involved in these aspects. A full service covering all these elements is included in the port and marina advice provided by Deltares. In port and marina projects we have performed studies and used our expertise to advise clients on multiple issues from a scale influencing the feasibility of the plans in general, including the layout of the port, down to the details at the berth, such as required fender types and mooring line distributions. Furthermore, we have supported clients in making the design of marinas, ranging from small local marinas to major development schemes, leading to comfortable mooring conditions for yachts. In short, based on our knowledge of underlying physical processes, our numerical tools and the available physical modelling techniques and facilities we can offer adequate and comprehensive support at all stages of the hydraulic design of a port and marina design from initial concept to detailed dimensioning of project plans and mooring facilities.

Services for key elements Nautical aspects The ultimate goal of a port or marina is to provide safe and tranquil mooring locations for vessels. Studies to achieve this can take the form of expert judgement evaluations of port layouts in an early stage of the design process, up to comprehensive numerical calculations or scale-model tests for detailed port designs. In such evaluations the manoeuvres of vessels into and from the port are considered as well as manoeuvres near the berths. Also the motion behaviour of the vessel moored at the quay is assessed. Numerical calculations for nautical aspects are made for manoeuvring and moored vessels. For manoeuvring vessels the calculated or measured local wave and current conditions are used to simulate entry, departure, and berthing manoeuvres with our in-house fast-time ship simulation software SHIPMA. Also the behaviour of vessels moored at a quay can be simulated numerically or in a scale model. The calculated or measured vessel motions are linked via statistical models to estimate the downtime for various port and berth layout configurations. Furthermore, such measurements and calculations can be used to optimise the port entry and mooring facilities, such as fenders and lines (number and type of lines, mooring configuration).

Wind wave conditions Calculations with detailed wave climate models and wave penetration models transfer deepwater wave climates to the location of the port and to locations inside the port, respectively. The wave conditions inside the port, or marina, indicate whether criteria for maximum allowable wave heights are met. Wave penetration models are also an important tool for optimising the port layout to reduce wave energy entering the port. Furthermore, these models are used to evaluate and optimise the effectiveness of wave damping measures, such as sloped rock revetments, with the aim to reach maximum wave tranquillity with minimum construction efforts. Examples of wave disturbance modelling include the ports in Hong Kong (Container Terminal 9), India (Ennore), France (Dunkirk), Egypt (El Dikheila), The Netherlands (Rotterdam), and Spain (Almeria). Long waves Besides visible wind waves, hindrance to (moored) vessels can also be caused by less apparent long waves, with wave lengths up to several hundreds of meters. Due to resonance, the amplitudes of these long waves can increase inside harbour basins. These waves cause hindrance during offloading and have been known to even cause ships to break moorings while the wind wave criteria remained well within design limits. In recent years, Deltares has also been a partner in a Joint Industry Project (JIP) on this topic called sHAllow WAter Initiative (JIP HAWAI), in which 25 international companies participated. Example locations of long-wave studies by Deltares are ports in the Dominican Republic (Caucedo), India (New Mangalore), Ireland (Dunmore), and Yemen (Balhaf).

Deltares - Geo-engineering

Passing ships Passing ships create wave disturbances that can cause hindrance to berth operations and in some cases even cause damage to mooring facilities. Such problems have become more and more common in recent years due to intensified use of port facilities. Deltares has made studies of this phenomenon in ports for locations worldwide, including Tampa (Florida, USA), Amsterdam, and Rotterdam (The Netherlands). Presently, Deltares is one of the partners in the foreseen Joint Industry Project (JIP) Ropes, which will be aimed at increasing the knowledge and modelling capabilities in this field. Furthermore, Deltares is involved in a PIANC working group aimed at defining updated criteria for maximum motions of moored container vessels.

Tides and currents The efficiency of harbours and marinas is also influenced by currents and water level changes, e.g. due to the tide. Local flow patterns during the different tidal phases can include large tidal eddies and strong velocity gradients near the port entrance that need to be taken into account when considering vessel manoeuvres. Water level changes can cause a port to be (temporarily) inaccessible for deepdraught vessels. In that case, calculated tidal window predictions indicate during which time intervals such vessels can enter the port. Alternatively, the required increased depth (and other dimensions) of an entrance channel can be provided based on a deterministic or a probabilistic design in which also the response of a vessel to the local wave conditions needs to be taken into account. Water quality Long residence times of the water inside basins are an indication of areas in a proposed layout of a marina (or port) where potential water quality issues could arise. To verify this, the flushing characteristics of a port or marina design can be assessed in detail with our numerical flow models. These models can also be used to review and propose mitigating measures that might be required. Sedimentation and dredging Our numerical morphology models can predict shortterm and long-term bed changes for dredging scenarios over decades of port operation. Applying such models leads to significant optimisation of dredging operations for port and entrance channel maintenance and consequently to more economical designs. Example locations of sedimentation studies include Spain (Santander), India (Gulf of Khambat and Gulf of Kutch), Ireland (Waterford), UAE (Fujairah), and The Netherlands (Rotterdam).

Deltares - Geo-engineering

Methods and approaches Either a numerical, physical or a combined modelling approach can be the most efficient way for obtaining the information required for a project. In every project a tailor-made approach is determined depending on the clients questions. Deltares has state-of-the-art tools and methods for both physical and numerical study approaches. In-house developed numerical tools include a fast-time manoeuvring model (SHIPMA), a mild-slope wave penetration model (PHAROS), and a Boussinesqtype wave penetration model (TRITON). Additional modelling tools are available in the form of the Delft3D modelling system, including the SWAN wave module. Physical modelling facilities include multiple wave flumes and a 50x50 m directional wave basin in which a scaled local bathymetry and layout can be constructed. Our clients Our large national and international client base includes government authorities (ministries, institutes etc.), local authorities (municipalities, provinces), consultants, contractors, private industrial clients, and project developers. The circumstances in our home country, a delta location with large port development projects that is vulnerable to coastal erosion and flooding, results in a close cooperation with Dutch ministries and local authorities. Our strong performance in serving our local clients in The Netherlands ensures the highest level of technology is developed and also made available to our international clients.

P.O. Box 177 2600 MH Delft, The Netherlands info@deltares.nl www.deltares.nl

Further information For further information please contact: M.P.C. de Jong +31 (0) 88 335 8596, martijn.dejong@deltares.nl) or K.J. Bos +31 (0) 88 335 8231, klaasjan.bos@deltares.nl), of the Harbour, Coastal, and Offshore Engineering department of Deltares.