Engineering accolade for ABP Solent Gateway

Batteries in Maritime	Autonomy at Sea	Alternative Fuels	Tugs, Towing & Salvage

Examining the growing role of batteries in maritime, questioning their green credentials while exploring industry insights, operator experiences and lessons learned from early electric vessel adoption worldwide.	Highlighting the innovators advancing subsea and maritime technology, from autonomous underwater swarms to cloud-connected assets and data-driven predictive models, reshaping how real-time conditions at sea are understood globally today.	Exploring one of the workboat sector’s dilemmas today: which emerging fuels hold the most promise in terms of cost, availability, practicality and performance? Or should we simply clean up the Black Gold?	Looking at how tugs, towing and salvage vessels are adapting to stricter regulations; contemplating new propulsion technologies and alternative fuels; and changing design strategies for one of maritime’s most demanding sectors.
Read More	Read More	Read More	Read More

Seawork 15th - 17th June 2027	Speed@Seawork 14th June 2027	Seawork Conferences

The 28th edition of Europe’s largest commercial marine and workboat exhibition provides businesses the opportunity to showcase their services, equipment, vessels and supplies to an international audience.	Speed@Seawork on 14th June in Cowes offers a sector specific event that showcases fast vessels operating at high speed for security interventions and Search & Rescue.	Taking place at the annual Seawork Exhibition in Southampton, UK from 15–17 June 2027, Seawork Conferences deliver a varied programme of sessions featuring expert speakers addressing the latest topical issues in the commercial marine industry.
Visit the Seawork Website	Speed@Seawork on the Seawork Website	View on Seawork

The image shows an overhead shot of work progressing on the ABP Solent Gateway Project

Source: ABP

Associated British Ports (ABP), along with project partners Boskalis Westminster, Knights Brown and Ramboll, have won an important engineering accolade for the ABP Solent Gateway marine infrastructure project.The project, which is maintaining and future-proofing the 40-year-old Falklands Jetty for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and commercial operations, won the Best Project Asset Maintenance Award at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) South East Awards

The project, which is maintaining and future-proofing the 40-year-old Falklands Jetty for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and commercial operations, won the Best Project Asset Maintenance Award at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) South East Awards.

“I am incredibly proud to have led this project and to collaborate with our specialist supply chain partners to safeguard an existing asset that can continue to fully support both MOD and commercial operations at ABP Solent Gateway,” said Jason Boulter CEng MICE, ABP engineering project manager.

“Winning the award underscores our commitment and teamwork to deliver on time and achieve our goals. It has been a pleasure working alongside Boskalis Westminster, Knights Brown and Ramboll.”

Vessel accommodation

In 2023, ABP acquired Solent Gateway, the operator of Marchwood Military Port, with plans for its development.

The landside development, known as Phase 1, has been completed and includes 21 acres of open storage, a new security facility and port entrance, including 60 acres of off-site biodiversity net gain (BNG) within the New Forest.

This project, known as Phase 2, will maintain the Falklands Jetty, ensuring it remains capable of accommodating a wide variety of vessel sizes for at least another 40 years.

Backed by a GB£17.5 million investment, the scope of works included deepening the berth, constructing two new dolphins and increasing the load capacity of the existing mooring bollard and fixed fender configurations.

These works will enable ABP Solent Gateway to continue to accommodate commercial and military vessels, removing the current tidal and wind restrictions associated with the existing marine infrastructure. Thereby increasing the jetty’s usage and improving the port’s ability to berth vessels at all states of tide.

The engineering team at ABP have been working with local supply chain partners to tackle the project’s complex challenges, including a strict winter schedule from December to March to minimise the impact on salmon migration and other marine ecosystems.

Preserving the existing infrastructure has been crucial to avoid building a new berth. Due to its location, most of the work - such as site investigations and pile installations - was conducted over water.