Monthly Archives

April 2020

Bringing The World’s Biggest Cruise Ships to Brisbane

By | News

Port of Brisbane’s new $177 million Brisbane International Cruise Terminal is progressing well, and the team at Madsen Giersing have been heavily involved in designing the project’s mooring dolphins.

Engaged by Brady Marine and Civil (BMC), we were challenged to design the most effective and constructible solution to safely and securely moor the world’s biggest cruise liners when they come to town.

Peter Madsen led the design team “We love a challenge, particularly when it comes to marine engineering and are delighted with the outcome we have designed for BMC and Port of Brisbane.”

“Working in any marine environment poses its challenges, and the Brisbane River is no exception. The riverbed is notoriously soft, which makes constructing marine structures challenging, especially when we factor in the forces at play when a cruise ship is moored.”

The conforming mooring dolphins design for the anchor points involved a four pile system with rock design anchors, but upon analysis, we worked with BMC to come up with an alternative that was not only more cost-effective but easier to construct.

“The four piles system was a great concept, but instead, we used a single pile on a much larger scale, to be able to withstand the forces involved. The Oasis of The Seas is one of the largest cruise ships afloat at 225,782 gross registered tonnes, and our approach would enable ships up to 300,000 gross registered tonnes to safely anchor in Brisbane.”

The design comprised a single pile, 41m long and a 4.3m diameter with a concrete cap which removed the need for rock anchors and was significantly quicker to construct.

For more information on the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal, please visit: https://www.portbris.com.au/cruise/

Project Win – Engineering a Piling Solution

By | News

With essential upgrades being made to the Cape Lambert Port A (CLA) wharf facility and associated jettyMadsen Giersing has been engaged by Austral Construction to modify and upgrade the piling leader that will be used in the refurbishment of the facility’s dolphins and jetty. 

Madsen Giersing’s Lasse Madsen outlined the project “This project will see major refurbishments undertaken to the wharf’s dolphins and existing jetty. Built in the 1970s and added to up until 2002, they are approaching the end of their life and need replacement to be able to be resilient to future adverse weather events and for the facility to remain operational.” 

“With 144 piles to be driven, Austral Construction required an experienced partner to modify and upgrade an existing piling leader so that it could handle the project and given our experience with marine engineering, we were engaged.”