A two-stage project at Shoreham Port on the UK’s south-east coast involved the complete replacement of an existing marina after many years of service together with the installation of a brand new facility in a freshly dredged area a short distance away.
The works followed an earlier project in the spring of 2020 when Walcon installed a heavy-duty waiting pontoon outside the Port’s lock gates to serve as a standby berth for the workboats that escort commercial vessels in and out of the harbour.
Under strict COVID protocols the new facility, made up of three piers connected to a back walkway, was built first. The Walcon Wizard piling barge drove the piles before the Walcon System 2000 pontoons were installed. 13 finger pontoons plus hammerheads at the end of each pier and additional alongside berthing on the walkway delivered 43 berths for boats up to 10 metres in length.
Then it was on to Shoreham Port’s Lady Bee Marina just a few metres away. This was dismantled and transported to Walcon’s Southampton wharf for disposal. The Walcon Wizard then drove the piles for the new facility. Using the same, three piers plus back walkway configuration, but on a larger scale, 32 fingers plus hammerheads created a total of 82 berths, 68 for Shoreham Port and 14 for the adjacent Sussex Yacht Club.
Walcon’s Warrior and Wizard barges played a valuable role in the project by removing the old pontoons by water. The new infrastructure was brought in by road from the Walcon factory. Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 over the course of the year, the works were finalised by the autumn, allowing berth holders to get their boats snug and settled in time for the winter ahead.
‘We are delighted to open our newly updated leisure facilities at Shoreham Port for our berth holders to enjoy,” said Julian Seaman, Harbour Master at Shoreham Port. “Walcon Marine exhibited the utmost professionalism throughout the project against the backdrop of the global pandemic and national lockdown, following strict protocols while working very efficiently.
“The new pontoons have weathered very well in the recent storms and we have received excellent feedback from our leisure users. Features of our new facility include easier access via a double pontoon access bridge, wider pontoon fingers for ease of access to and from vessels and improved lighting. The site will also offer enhanced security, with new fencing, keypad gate access, CCTV and extra lighting where required. We look forward to working with Walcon Marine again in the future.’