Moorage at Monaco’s Fontvieille Port has been significantly improved thanks to a complete upgrade to the Port’s floating piers. Bellingham Marine France led the renovation which included the replacement of the marina’s existing aluminum walkways with modern concrete floating pontoons anchored on chains as well as upgrades to the marina’s power and potable water systems.
The chain anchor system utilizes flush boxes constructed centrally in the pontoons along the walkways, which the chains pass through. This configuration allows for easy adjustment and regular inspection of the chain fixings without the need of divers.
“The extra wide, stable Unifloat walkways and additional upgrades have put the facility back on par with the world class yachts that frequent the harbor,” said Daniel Realini, Technical and Ports Operations Director of SEPM (Société D’Exploitation Des Ports De Monaco) the private entity who operates the ports of the Principality.
As part of the project, the outer pier of the marina, which is closest to the entrance, was designed 3.0 meters wide and has an increased continuous waler connection system which takes into consideration the waves expected at the entrance. This pier will act as an attenuator reducing wave action and providing protection to the piers and boats further inside the port. With this pier in place along with the mass of the other concrete pontoons installed as part of the project, the basin is now much calmer. Even during recent storm events the new concrete pontoons provided safe berthing to all boats moored within.
“The project had a number of challenges; however, Bellingham and the team delivered and the end result is a facility we are all proud of,” said Daniel Realini.
According to David Veyrat-Durebex, General Manager of Bellingham Marine France; narrow, steep roads, which made transportation difficult, restricted access times and location, limited space for staging and a streak of bad weather all added to the project’s unique challenges.
The Port’s improvement plans for Fontvieille have been underway since the early 2000’s. This latest round of improvements completes the Port’s plans for the facility. The completed marina accommodates 275 vessels up to 20 meters in length.
As the world’s leading marina design-build construction company, Bellingham Marine produces Unifloat® concrete floating dock systems, Unideck® metal frame floating dock systems and Unistack® dry stack systems for marinas worldwide.
Contact: Bellingham Marine, P.O. Box 8, Bellingham, WA 98227; www.bellingham-marine.com.
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