The Port of Antwerp-Bruges has raised the capacity of four bollards at PSA Antwerp’s Noordzee Terminal from 150 tonnes to seven new 250-tonne bollards.
According to the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, the new bollards were installed at the end of December 2023.
To make the greatest use of the quay length, many technological interventions were carried out throughout the years.
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The additional bollards are the last piece of the puzzle that will allow numerous 24,000 TEU ships to dock in the most efficient way possible, with as little lost space as possible, going forward.
Several elements were considered by the port while calculating bollard capacity, including passing vessels’ sailing speed, water displacement, wind, tide, kind of mooring ropes, and so on.
The present quay construction is an anchored diaphragm wall with a quay wall head on top. Cutouts were created in the quay wall head in four spots, and steel frames were gradually installed. The new bollards were installed on these frames.
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The frames were chemically fixed and recessed into the final cuts. Furthermore, to ensure the quay wall’s overall stability and increased bollard loads, the frames were secured into the subsurface with 50-meter-long tensioned anchors.
Extensive research work by engineering, architectural, and consultancy company Sweco, as well as a review of study and implementation by independent technical expert SECO Belgium, preceded this doubling of the bollards campaign, which tested the limits of what was possible.
