Work is progressing on an extensive $39 million capital improvement project to rebuild Port Canaveral’s North Cargo Berth 4 (NCB4). The project included removing the existing functionally obsolete over-the-water pier, which has been out of service for nearly 10 years and replace it with a 981-foot-long multi-purpose, multi-user wharf. North Cargo Berth 4 is located next to the port’s newly rebuilt North Cargo Berth 3 (NCB3), an 880-foot-long multi-purpose berth, which went into service in June 2023.
The NCB 4 renovation project is particularly complex due to the work zone’s location next to NCB3, an active cargo berth with adjacent uplands. The demolition of “old” NCB4 began in April 2023 and continues with the extraction of existing concrete piles that remain, while the first phase of construction began in September 2023 and is ongoing.
The bulkhead piles and A-frame piles have been installed, and work has commenced on installing nearly 400 concrete piles. Additionally, the area between NCB3 and NCB4 will include a designated space to securely tie down our mobile harbor crane during severe weather events. The berth will also be equipped with plug-in receptacles to accommodate either of the port’s two mobile harbor cranes, LMH #11 or LMH #12.
When completed, the modern bulkhead design of North Cargo Berth 4 will be able to accommodate at berth a wide range of vessels and cargo discharge operations.
Port Canaveral Senior Project Manager Veronica Narvaez-Lugo is the port’s lead engineer for this complex berth renovation project, working with project contractor Tampa-based Orion Marine Construction. The rebuilt berth is anticipated to be substantially complete in Q4 FY’24.