A new berthing facility by Walcon Marine for vessels operated by the Royal Oman Police Coast Guard is in its final stages of completion. The facility forms part of a major new Coast Guard Harbour being built in the town of Sidab, a short distance to the east of Muscat on the Gulf of Oman.
The Walcon section is made up of 315 metres of walkways running along a section of the harbour’s inner wall with five piers coming off them ranging in length from 68 to 93 metres. These will be used for alongside docking by the Police Coastguard’s fast patrol boats, with space for 19 in total. At the western end, 19 finger pontoons each 10 metres in length will be used by smaller Interceptor craft and RIBs.
The Coast Guard operates a fleet of Rodman and Ares fast patrol boats between 26 and 35 metres in length. To cater for these high usage vessels, Walcon specified its heavy-duty structural steel Jumbo pontoons which are 3 metres wide, have 750mm freeboard, a central service duct and a high live load of 3kN per m². The pontoons have been finished with a special paint system for maximum protection and durability. Other features include mooring bollards up to 15 tonnes load, emergency ladders and emergency cabinets. To cope with the less-than-gentle dockings, D fenders have been fitted in certain places and, for the larger vessels, pneumatic fenders each one metre in length and 500mm in diameter, have been attached. The entire facility is positioned behind a new, 370-metre rock breakwater.
The Coast Guard division of the Royal Oman Police is responsible for the safety and security of Oman's territorial waters and undertakes anti-piracy and anti-smuggling operations as well as search and rescue duties. Walcon worked with main contractor Carillion Alawi LLC to realise this high specification project.
Walcon Marine is a leader in the design, build and installation of heavy-duty pontoons for 24/7 operations by working vessels including fast patrol boats, crew transfer vessels, passenger ferries, fishing boats, police and other government agency craft, and port and harbour workboats.