Miamarina at Bayside located in downtown Miami, has 900 linear feet of mooring space adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway. This facility moors commercial boats including large dinner cruising vessels, ranging from 48 to 115 feet in length. Coastal Systems performed an above/below water assessment of the existing bulkhead with engineer-divers to evaluate the existing conditions and to document the structural configuration of the facility. As part of the underwater investigation, underwater Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) in the form of ultrasonic thickness measurements was performed on the steel sheet piling to evaluate the level of corrosion. The existing mooring hardware, such as cleats and bollards, was mapped and assessed along the concrete cap. Areas of concrete deterioration were also assessed and mapped.
A site-specific mooring analysis was performed for the facility that included the estimate of the environmental loads on the five types of design vessels. These loads included winds, waves, and tidal currents. The loads were developed through a coastal engineering study that included wave hindcasting from various wind directions along with tidal hydraulic numerical modeling utilizing the DHI MIKE-21 HD model. A review of water levels associated with normal and extreme conditions was also conducted. The total mooring forces were calculated for the various types of vessels, and recommendations for mooring hardware were specified along with layout and spacing. In addition, berthing forces were estimated, and recommendations for appropriate fender systems were provided.
An engineering assessment report with the results from the field assessment and mooring analysis was compiled, and the existing facility condition was rated. Construction cost estimates were prepared for the facility improvements and incorporated into the report.
We constructed a complete offshore mooring system for Royal Caribbean in Labadee, Haiti.