The design of Durban Harbour's new entrance channel : port and harbour engineering

The primary objective of the project is to provide the Port of Durban with a new entrance channel that allows for the safe access of all vessels up to an equivalent size of a 9 200 TEU container ship (length = 350 m, beam width = 45.6 m and draft = 14.5 m) under most weather conditions. The design of the new entrance required consideration of a number of functional and port operational requirements. The primary functional requirements included navigational safety for vessels using the channel and a high degree of availability for all vessels up to and including the design ship. These requirements were to be met without inducing additional sedimentation of the channel, minimising the adverse impact of increased wave energy on the adjacent Bluff and Point berths and maintained within the available land, utility and environmental constraints. In addition, the design was required to allow shipping traffic into the port during construction on a 24-hour basis without undue congestion.