Engineers mark next stage in Genoa breakwater

A semi-submersible barge, the Tronds Barge 33, will be used to install the caissons, which are 67 metres long, 35 metres wide and 33 metres high.

The barge – 110 metres long and 45 metres wide – can submerge to 20 metres for easier caisson installation.

Concrete batching systems have already been installed and can produce up to 3,000 cubic metres of concrete per day, running continuously over a 24-hour cycle.

Webuild says this represents a major step forward in improving both the speed and efficiency of construction, allowing 2-3 caissons to be built every month. Quarries in Sardinia, Carrara, and Liguria are now fully operational, along with the dedicated vessels transporting materials needed to lay the seabed where the caissons will be placed.

The caissons are part of the Port of Genoa’s new breakwater, which will eventually be 6.2km long with a laying depth of up to 50 metres, which Webuild says is the deepest Europe has ever seen.

“The new infrastructure will make the port of Genoa accessible to new generation ships up to 400 metres in length, strengthening the role of the Ligurian port in the Rhine-Alpine Corridor of the TEN-T network,” says Webuild.

“The work, developed entirely in the open sea, is taking shape on an already consolidated seabed with more than 2,200 tons of gravel laid, to which are added 41,000 submerged columns, equal to a total of 478,000 linear metres already built, more than half of the total length envisaged by the project.

“The Genoa breakwater site is a stand-out example of Italian engineering excellence, constantly evolving and closely monitored at every stage with a focus on quality, safety, and innovation. The work currently under way is further reinforcing the reliability of the project and ensuring it will be delivered on schedule.”

Once the breakwater is complete, the Port of Genoa will be able to accommodate ships twice the size of those that already visit the port.