Maritime and port infrastructures

Maritime infrastructures are essential in a country such as Spain, which has around 8,000 km of coastline. It is also strategically located within the international shipping network. It is one of the world’s leading tourist destinations, primarily due to its coastline and good climate.

A maritime project can be defined as a project with at least one of its contours in the sea and allows the exploitation and management of the sea. This is perhaps one of the most complex works due to the instability of the environment in which they are built. In this sense, technological advances and innovation have led to better knowledge and understanding of the structure and dynamic behaviour of the seas and oceans, establishing their interrelationship with the atmosphere, marine geology, and geotechnics.

At Sando Construcción, we design and execute maritime and port infrastructures. It is one of the specialities with the most extended trajectory within the company. The civil engineering projects awarded have enabled us to participate in unique economic and social development projects.

The successful completion of maritime works projects requires applying specific knowledge not typically found in other fields of civil engineering, including the design, construction, and maintenance of infrastructures.

The Maritime Works Recommendations (MWR), the Spanish regulation on port projects, establish the primary criterion for classifying Maritime Works (MW) and the service they provide, distinguishing between Main and Auxiliary MW.. The main ones are differentiated: Sheltering works, coastal management and protection works, mooring and dock works, external platforms and submarine pipelines. Ancillary works are divided into dredging, filling, construction, and repair work for ships and floats. Ancillary works are divided into dredging, filling, construction, and repair work for ships and floats.

Maritime and port works

Traditionally, two maritime works are distinguished: port and coastal. The former arises from the need to create a safe connection between marine and land transport. In contrast, the latter arises from the need to urbanise inhabited coastal areas and protect them from the intense pressure of human activities and the need to protect the coast from waves and the devastating effects of storms.

New needs and activities have arisen throughout history, leading to other maritime infrastructures such as oil platforms or submarine pipelines.

Worldwide, maritime transport is the most widely used mode of international trade, supporting the most significant movement of goods due to its high capacity, flexibility and versatility So most of the products we consume daily travel through the ports.

Historically, the port has been a transcendental factor in territorial development. Globalisation and the specialisation of maritime transport have led to the need for ports to extend over a large surface area, sea and land, developing extensive port areas with more or less specific works depending on the foreseeable use of the port and the transport system used. Thus, the ports represent the largest infrastructures on the coast and have become true logistical nodes and, occasionally, industrial zones.

Increasing environmental awareness leads to one of the most significant challenges facing current port infrastructures, both existing and newly built: integrating urban planning into the surrounding populations and complying with aesthetic, environmental and sustainability criteria.

The effects of climate change, incessant human intervention on the coastline and the rise of tourism are increasing the need for coastal works to protect the coastline. On the one hand, society’s increased environmental awareness is demanding actions aimed at slowing down the degradation of the coastal shoreline, while, on the other hand, the territory’s economic development is increasing the pressure on coastal areas, especially in places of tourist interest. Hence, good planning of port and coastal works is essential to allow for the sustainable development of the territory, minimising their effects on the environment and protecting the coastline.

In this challenge, the conservation and maintenance of infrastructures, together with the rehabilitation towards new uses, play a crucial role, and it is essential to count on specialised companies such as Conacon Sando. It is increasingly common to find old factory and storage buildings that have been fully refurbished for conservation purposes but have been converted for other uses, such as leisure or culture. Conservation must be carried out continuously to enhance the value of the port or coastal infrastructure throughout its useful life.

Ports

A port is a set of physical elements on which a series of activities are carried out to transfer cargo and passengers between sea and land, i.e. the port is the link in the transport chain between the maritime and land transport system. Generally, a port has a naval area intended for ships and a land area designed for goods and passengers.

In the absence of natural shelters, almost all maritime port works are built on land reclaimed from the sea, significantly impacting the coastal ecosystem and the erosive dynamics of the coastline.

Depending on their function, ports can be commercial, fishing, passenger, sport or recreational, shipyard, industrial, military, etc. In general, most commercial ports are of a mixed or multifunctional type, in which various functions and cargo specialities coexist with docks specialised in each of them.

Throughout history, ports have evolved according to the needs of society and adapted to the characteristics of both ships and land transport On the other hand, the urban development of port cities often leads to the port opening up to the city, creating large commercial, cultural, or leisure areas for the use and enjoyment of the citizens.

Dams

The dykes are shelters whose function is to defend and protect against the effects of waves. They are essential for harbour construction in open sea areas and coastal protection. There are two basic typologies: those with inclined faces and those with vertical faces, and there are mixed typologies, which function in one way or another depending on the sea level.

Slope breakwaters generally consist of a quarry core protected by one or more layersarranged in the form of a filter, larger breakwater, blocks, or special concrete pieces over which the waves break. At the top, there is a masonry trellis or not, depending on the function to be carried out.

The vertical or reflecting breakwaters generally consist of a masonry wall made of concrete blocks or reinforced concrete caissons founded on a breakwater bank. They are designed with a depth such that the waves do not break over them but are reflected. In some cases, they can be used directly as springs.

A seawall is generally located parallel to the coast to protect it from the action of incident waves.. These dykes are built detached from the coast, although they may later be attached to the coast depending on the coastal dynamics present. Depending on the crest height, they are classified as emerged or submerged. And depending on their structural composition into multilayer or conventional dykes and homogeneous dykes. The latter, also known as reef dykes, are artificial barriers that are home to a large number of fauna.

Port terminals

Port terminal can be defined as the port facility or set of port facilities that constitute the interface between the maritime transport mode and the other modes of transport.. A port will have a more or less numerous set of port terminals depending on the different cargo it handles.

The infrastructure of a port terminal consists of:

• Maritime infrastructures. These are related to maritime transport, such as berthing and mooring works.
• Land-based infrastructure. They allow for developing port operations such as loading, unloading, storage, reception and classification of cargo, among others.
• Equipment.. These elements, such as mobile and fixed cranes, are available for port operations.
• Human resources. This refers to all personnel involved in the logistics and operation of the terminal, not excluding the information technology necessary for management and coordination.

Port terminals are infrastructures with very complex and precise operating logistics, with many activities going on at the same time, which are grouped into 4 sub-systems:

• Loading and Unloading Subsystem.. It is essential to meet ships’ loading and unloading demands quickly and efficiently so that the port’s equipment is used to its full potential and is in constant operation while ensuring safety at all times.
• Storage Subsystem.. It is the most significant part of any port terminal. Its layout and extension are closely related, not only to the traffic demanded by the other sub-systems but also to the choice of the handling equipment to be used in this sub-system.
• Delivery and Reception Subsystem. It is a particular area where the transition from warehousing to land transport of goods occurs, either by road or rail. It has three processes in constant operation: the arrival of the land mode of transport, cargo control at reception or delivery, and loading or unloading of the transport vehicles.
• Internal Transport Subsystem. All elements used for transporting cargo or personnel within the port terminal facilities, including loading cargo onto the ship.

There are various port terminals according to the equipment they have. The most common are:

• Container terminals:They are currently the most common. They specialise in loading and unloading containers and are identified by the mechanical gantry cranes they use to move containers of enormous tonnage and stack them on top of each other in large open-air spaces.
• Liquid bulk terminals:Liquid bulk accounts for a large share of total maritime transport, being of a similar magnitude to that of containers. Liquids transported include hydrocarbons, liquefied gases, chemicals and foodstuffs. Pipelines and pumping stations are needed to load and unload the liquid into the storage tanks. Different safety measures must be taken depending on the liquid to be treated.

Fire safety, waste management, and spill/leakage safety systems are essential in hydrocarbon, gas and chemical terminals. A distinction must also be made between the different port terminals according to their physical layout. They are either located on the coastline, connected by jetties, or in the open sea, which is increasingly common due to the large size of ships.

• Bulk solids terminals.. They are responsible for loading, unloading, handling, and depositing solid bulk cargo carried by bulk carriers. To this end, they must have special equipment for handling materials that avoid, as far as possible, the emission of dust or spills that generate environmental impacts. The primary commodities they deal with are: minerals, hydrocarbons (coal), fertilisers, agri-bulk and others such as forestry products or phosphates. Special care should be taken in loading, transporting and unloading to avoid contact with different materials, which could contaminate and render a product unusable. The essential equipment that every port terminal for bulk solids must have are hoppers, to channel the material, and conveyor belts, in charge of horizontal transport within the port.
• General cargo terminals.. Although most international trade today uses standardised containers, many operations are still classified as general cargo in pallets. This terminal consists of berthing units serving smaller, general cargo vessels.
• Ro-Ro ship terminals. These terminals are designed to receive Ro-Ro (Roll On-Roll Off) vessels, which carry roll-on roll-off cargo, be it cars, trucks, trains, platforms, trailers, etc. These non-stackable wheeled goods of various sizes are loaded and unloaded via ramps or lifts in the quay area. Ro-Ro terminals require a jetty to place their ramps if the vessel has them; if not, as is the case for fast ferriesthe terminal must have a ramp which may be hydraulic or stationary.