Water Load Test Weights

Bremerhaven Lock Gates

Floating and Turning of a 2300t Lock Gate in Bremerhaven

Operator: Hochtief Construction AG Location: Bremerhaven, Germany
Client: Port of Bremerhaven
Water Depth: 0 – 10 meters

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The port of Bremerhaven, Germany required new lock gates after a ship collided with the previous set rendering them inoperable. Hochtief Construction were awarded the contract to build and install three new gates, two as replacements and a spare should one be accidentally damaged again. The gates were constructed in Gdansk, Poland by Crist Spolka and shipped aboard a semi submersible barge to be offloaded at Bremerhaven by Hochtief Construction.

The gates were shipped on their side and upon arrival, the barge was submerged to offload the
gates in the horizontal position minimising overall draft.

SEAFLEX INVOLVMENT

To achieve the horizontal position and to counteract 300t of concrete ballast installed in the lower section of each gate, Seaflex were asked to provide 160t of buoyancy (consisting of 8 x 10t IBU’s and 16 x 5t IBU’s) and 160t of WaterLoad Bags (consisting of 4 x 15t and 10 x 10t units). The floating crane ENAK took the remaining load peaking at over 500t.

During the launch phase, all IBU’s we kept at full capacity by way of 1.6km of ¾” airlines and four inflation manifolds. Once afloat, the gate was towed clear of the barge.

At pre-determined points during the gate’s rotation, the IBU’s were deflated and all WaterLoad Bags emptied leaving ENAK to complete the turn to the upright position. On completion all Seaflex equipment was removed and made ready for the arrival of the second gate two weeks later. The final third gate is now due to arrive during Spring 2010.

Bremerhaven Project Overview download

 

Back to previous page