Grimsby pontoon

The Falmouth, Cornwall- based company, designs, builds and installs heavy-duty, 50-year design life ‘DockMaster’ concrete pontoon systems. These low maintenance pontoons are ideal for vessels from 50 to 2,000 tonnes displacement, with variable usage from offshore wind crew transfer to very large tugs.

The Grimsby design and build contract involved the construction of five 52t x 6m x 1.1m freeboard concrete pontoon units, steel gangway, electrical and water services, pontoon fuel system and a two shore mounted gantry cranes.

Particular features of the pontoons included the use of high quality pre cast concrete made from eco-crete (pre mined aggregates) and top entry service ducts which allow the services to be laid, inspected and adapted easily in the future if required.

Drystan Jones, managing director of Marine Designs Ltd, said: “Every detail of this installation was carefully considered with the client and the result is a really high quality pontoon system that will serve the site well throughout the operating life of the Humber Gateway Windfarm.”

Last year the company installed a crew transfer pontoon for RWE at its Base Harbour Port in Birkenhead for the Gwent Y Mor offshore windfarm. That project involved building a pontoon 130m out into the River Mersey so that the crew transfer vessels could access the construction base at all states of the tide and take on fuel from the pontoons. The berthing pontoons for the project weighed in at 330t with three 40m walkways supported on 12m by 12m 170t concrete pontoons which were restrained with a heavy chain mooring system.

To date the company claims it has been involved with the most significant offshore wind operations and maintenance port developments in the UK and continues to be a leader in the design and build of heavy duty concrete commercial pontoons.

Marine Designs is part of the A&P Group, which owns and operates port facilities and dry docks in the south west and north east of the UK.

The DockMaster pontoon is built using large, pre-cast concrete panels. The panels are between 150mm and 500mm thick and are manufactured in Cornwall using pre-mined China clay aggregates. Marine Designs Ltd was awarded the South West Green Energy award for this innovation adding to its list of past honours, which includes the Seawork Innovation Award at Mercator Media Limited’s Seawork International Exhibition.

By Jake Frith