UK's Portland Port is embarking on its largest improvement project to date, investing GBP 26 million in a major berth development.
The Isle of Portland (Weymouth, Dorset England) cruise port applied for and approved, all the necessary permissions in order to carry out the project.
The new port development will see the existing DWB-Deep Water Berth removed, and replaced with a new, extended berth.
In addition, the works will deliver a 74-m/243-ft long extension to the solid quay face of the current primary cruise berth, the OCP-Outer Coaling Pier.
The outcome will be a new DWB with a 250-m/820-ft long solid berth face, including a suite of 150-ton bollards and with 12-m/39-ft water depth alongside, capable of handling vessels with max LOA length 350 m/1148 ft. In addition, OCP will be extended in order to produce a 250-m solid berth face with 11-m water depth alongside.
Overall the project will deliver ~16,000 m2 of additional quayside space and be capable of handling a pair of 350-metre LOA liners alongside at the same time.
The preparatory works are underway and, once complete, the new development will have used ~380,000 tonnes of locally sourced infill material and ~4800 tonnes of steel. The piling works are scheduled to commence at the beginning of next month with both OCP and DWB being fully operational by May 1, 2023.
The quayside's initial surface finish will be heavy-duty, with final surfacing works due to take place between October 2023-February 2024.