Port of Antwerp-Bruges increased the bollard capacity of four bollards at PSA Antwerp’s Noordzee Terminal from 150 tonnes to seven new 250 tonne bollards to minimize lost space between two vessels. Dynamic mooring analysis also showed that the increasingly larger ships mooring there had a risk of overloading the old bollards. The new bollards were commissioned at the end of December.
The Noordzee Terminal was commissioned About 26 years ago. At that time, most ships had the capacity of about 5,000 TEU. In the meantime, the quay wall was deepened by three meters to accommodate the ever-increasing draft of the approaching ships. To make the best use of the quay length, all kinds of technical interventions were carried out over the years. The new bollards are the final finishing touch to allow multiple 24,000 TEU ships to dock in the most efficient way possible, with as little lost space, from now on.
To calculate the bollard capacity, several factors come into play: the sailing speed of passing vessels, their water displacement, wind, tide, type of mooring ropes, and so on. The existing quay structure is an anchored diaphragm wall fitted with a quay wall head at the top. Cutouts were made in the quay wall head at four locations into which steel frames were successively placed. The new bollards were mounted on these frames. The frames themselves were chemically anchored and recessed into the completed cutouts. Moreover, as part of the overall stability of the quay wall and higher bollard loads, the frames were anchored into the subsoil by 50 meter long tensioned anchors.
Extensive study work by engineering, architecture and consultancy firm Sweco and review of study and execution by independent technical expert SECO Belgium preceded this doubling of the bollards campaign, testing the limits of what was feasible. Together with PSA Antwerp, the port determined the locations and preconditions. Hye NV from Burcht carried out the works.