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THE
final layout of the new Port of Venice onshore-offshore
container terminal was presented at a recent
London briefing, showing how Italy's city
of canals can accommodate mega ships from
a distance without marring its beauty.
Dutch
engineers from the Royal HaskoningDHV consultancy
have completed the final plan of the new
Port of Venice onshore offshore container
terminal, the company announced.
This
video shows how it will work with semi-submersible
vessels connecting the Venice offshore port
to the onshore terminal:
The
layout and equipment optimisation will generate
significant capital and operating expenditure
savings for the Venice Port Authority, says
the engineers.
The
key to the new offshore port design lies
in an innovative logistics concept comprised
of cranes, barges and semi-submersible vessels.
Acting
as a continuous conveyor, containers are
transferred from the offshore to the onshore
terminal and vice versa. This process will
enable the port to eliminate lead time in
the ship shore transfer of the containers,
allowing more flexibility in peak periods.
"The
terminal will be able to move one million
TEU a year, a significant portion of the
container volumes estimated for the Northern
Adriatic Sea by 2030," said a Royal
HaskoningDHV statement.
Said
Venice Port Authority planning chief Antonio
Revedin: "The onshore-offshore transfer
system results in performances equal to
those of the best container terminals in
the world. We will be able to accommodate
the latest super-sized container vessels
and operate at full capacity without double
handling.
"Developing
a terminal capable of handling Ultra Large
Container Vessels at the original port location
was not an option due to the port's unique
set of characteristics and the regulatory
and environmental constraints on the development
of navigation channels within the Venice
Lagoon," said Capt Revedin.
Said
Royal HaskoningDHV project chief Simon Blake:
"The significant cost savings were
achieved through sourcing equipment and
systems already on the market like cranes
and straddle carriers. Being able to deliver
a 25 per cent reduction to the equipment
cost shows how well the team has worked."
The
semi-submersible and so-called ‘Mama vessels"
designed by BMT TITRON, have the capacity
to transport two "cassettes" of
up to 384 TEU from the offshore terminal
to shore, and vice versa or two river barges,
class V, serving the Po River up to Mantova,
he said.
Mr
Blake also said they can withstand heavy
seas and have a low wash hull form minimising
wave impact to sensitive habitats and species
in the Venice Lagoon. "What's more,
the vessels' engines are powered by natural
gas, which will enable the port to reduce
CO2 emissions, making it one of the most
environmentally friendly ports," he
said.
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