Discussion on

Port Engineering
 Ports development in India
There are 12 major ports, 21 intermediate and 226 minor ports of
which about 157 are the working ports. The major ports are at
 Nhava Shiva
 Bombay
 Calcutta
 Haldia
 Madras
 Cochin
 Visakhaptnam
 Kandla
 Paradeep
 Marmagao
 Tuticorin
 Mangalore
A brief discussion about some of the major ports in India is
given below:-
Mumbai Port
• An important international port spread over an area over 1300 acres
• It comprises of three wet docks viz. Princes Dock(1880), Victoria
Dock(1888) and Alexanandra Dock(1914)
• It also contains two dry docks viz, Mere weather dry dock(1891) and
Hughes dry dock(1944)
• It has its own railway system.

Chennai Port
• It is an artificial third big port in India spread over an area over 200
acres
• It can accommodate 21 vessels inside the harbour.
Cochin Port
• It is a natural port covering an area of 192 sq.km.
• It lies on the direct route to Australia and the Far
East from Europe
• It is comprised of 12 stream berths, two coal
berths, 8 wharves with modern facilities for
loading and discharging bunker oil.
Visakhaptnam Port
• It is situated on the coromandal coast between
Kolkata and Chennai
• This port is comprised of 6 quay berths and 3
jetties
Kandla Port
• It is situated at Kutch
• It is connected to Hyderabad by a National highway
• It is comprised of a natural harbour with good anchorage
and sufficient depth of water
Marmugaon Port
• This port is on the 30th bank of the mouth of the Zuari
river which runs westward into the Arabian sea.
• The bottom of the port is mostly covered with dark blue
clay with mechanized facilities for handling bulk cargo
like mineral ore and coal, and an oil jetty in the river
outside the dock.
Ports play a vital role in building up the economy
of a country and in promoting its security.
 The traffic handled at the major ports has been rising
rapidly from16.8 million tones in 1947–48 to 113
million tones in 1975–76 and 223 million tones in
1985–86 (Nayek – 1994).
 Share of bulk cargo increasing from 48% in 1947-48 to
80% in 1968-69 and expected to increase still further in
future.
 Port engineering covers a very wide
field. A port engineer has to be conversant
with various types of construction like
heavy marine construction, foundation
engineering, highway, general building
construction, water supply etc. Various
natural forms from wind and wave actions
complicates the design and construction
procedures, and requires experience and
qualification to effect economy and safety
of construction and running cost of the port
Port: A port is an area where marine terminal facilities are
provided. It is a place, which regularly provides
accommodation for passengers and for goods to and
from the ships. A port may be said to have three parts:-

i) A harbour which provides sufficient channel and

adequate shelter.

ii) Marine terminal facilities which may include one or

more piers, wharfs at which ships berth while loading or
unloading passenger, cargo etc. with other facilities like
warehouses, transit shed etc.

iii) Floating equipments in the harbour (like tugs for towing

ships to and from berth, floating cranes for handling
cargo and fire fighting boats).
A typical layout plan with possible dimensions is shown
 PORT PLANNING :
Decision to build a port and its location
is determined by-
i) Its need and economic justification
ii) Prospective volume of sea borne commerce
iii) Availability of inland communication
 CHOICE OF SITE :
A good site shall have the following:-
i) Well-protected area against winds, waves and other
disturbing agencies.

ii) The site should involve least amount of dredging.

iii) It should have most favorable bottom condition.

iv) It should have suitable shore area for developing of

terminal facilities.
 GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF PORT PLANNING
In order to create best possible conditions for efficient
port operation, following guiding principles of port
planning should be followed:-
i) Port should be located at such a place so that the hinterland is
fertile and populated with good density.

ii) Port shall be connected to the different important locations

suitably by rails, roads etc.

iii) Port should be divided into separate zones for major categories of
expected traffic. They may require different technical installations
and different conditions of work. Fishing and industries should
normally be located at one end the port.
 Contd.
iv) Ample space should be provided for cargo handling
and storage, free movement of trucks and mechanical
equipments etc.

v) Each berth shall be designed for specific purposes.

vi) Each berth and each specialized terminal shall be

planned for maximum efficiency. It is wiser to build
one-efficient & relatively expensive berth than two
substandard berths with inadequate facilities for
vessels and for cargo.
 Contd.
A master plan for a port should be designed for a long
span of time and for implementation by stages, in
accordance with actual needs rather than with theoretical
requirement anticipated for distant future. Timing for each
consecutive stage can hardly be estimated in advance. It
depends on the economic progress and the growth of sea
borne traffic.
 Distribution of Capital Investment
Relative cost of different elements are given below:-
• Quays, basins, breakwater, quay surfacing … 30%

• Tracks for railways … … … 07%

• Installations (water, electricity etc.) … … 07%

• Roads & Open space for Storage … … 07%

• Transit sheds, warehouses and other buildings …33%

• Mechanical Devices … … … … 16%

Harbour
 Requirement of a Harbour
The harbour must meet the following
requirements for its proper functioning.
i) Ship channels must have sufficient depth for the
vessels.

ii) Land masses or breakwaters must be provided to

protect against the destructive wave action.
 Contd.
iii) The bottom should furnish secure anchorage to
hold ships against the force of high winds.

iv) The harbour entrance should be so wide as to

permit ready passage for shipping and so
narrow as to restrict the transmission of
excessive amounts of wave energy in time of
storm.
 Harbour Classification

Harbours can be broadly classified as:

• Natural
• Semi natural
• Artificial
 Natural Harbour
• It is a water area protected from storms and waves by
natural configuration of land.

• Its entrance is so located and formed as to facilitate

navigation.

• They are natural formations in the form of basins.

• Having a protected harbor reduces the need for

breakwaters

• They are located in bays, tidal estuaries and river mouths.

 Semi-natural Harbour

• It is an inlet of a river sheltered on two sides by

headlands requiring artificial protection only at the
entrance.

• Plymouth and Cherbourg are the well known

semi-natural harbours.
 Artificial Harbour

• It is an area protected from the effect of waves by

breakwaters.

• Artificial formations in the form of breakwaters are

constructed to provide shelter to ships and vessels during
bad weather.

• These artificial harbour walls provide a tract or area of

water close to the shore. This area is known as artificial
road-stead. It is provided with good berthing conditions.
 Artificial road-stead
Artificial road-stead can be created by
constructing a breakwater or wall parallel to the
coast or curvilinear from the coast. Artificial road-
stead can also be created by enclosing an area or
tract by projecting solid walls known as jetties
from the sea-shore. This enclosed area should
provide good anchorage facilities. This type of
artificially created road-stead is known as
circumscribed road-stead.
Size & Shape of Harbour & Turning Basin
Width: It depends with expected traffic of the port and may be
based on:-
i) Maximum sized ships at both quays with two rows of lighters on
the other side of each ship. A fairway twice the breadth of a large
ship between moored vessels.
If B = width of large ship
b = width of local ship
e = width of lighter
f = width of river craft
Then width of basin = 4 B + 4 e
 Contd.
ii) Smaller cargo ships at both quays with one row of
lighters on the either side and a fairway 4 times the breadth
of a smaller ship, so that two ships are able to pass one
another i.e.
width = 6b + 2e

iii) Width = 7B + 6f
 Length of Basin
It shall not exceed 2000m. However
maximum length of quay must be sufficient
to accommodate longest ship expected. A
berth with 9m depth can accommodate a
ship 160m long and allowing 20m at both
ends, minimum length will be 200m. 600-
700m appears to be optimum length of a
basin to berth 3 ships.
Depth of Harbour basin and approach channel

Depth should be sufficient to permit navigation at lowest low

water when ship is fully loaded. Generally 10.5m - 12m, would take
care of most of the ships. However the required channel depth
relative to a referenced water level must be based on-
1) Loaded vessel draft
2) Squat
3) Safety clearance
4) Dredging tolerance
5) Advance maintenance dredging
 Contd.

The channel depth is generally determined

from the following formula:
D = D1 + H/3 +D2
Where,
D = depth of the channel
D1 = draft of the largest ship to be accommodated
H = height of storm waves
D2 = allowance for squat of the moving ship
 Contd.
Thus the harbour and approach channel should be sufficient
depth to allow the navigation at low water when the ship is fully
loaded. It must be ensured that there should be no obstructions such
as boulders or sunken ships upto the required depth for safe
navigation. The harbour depth below the lowest low water should be
as follows:
a) When the bed is soft, max. harbour depth = loaded draft +
1.2 m
b) When the bottom is hard i.e. rock bottom, max. harbour
depth = loaded draft + 1.8 m
 Turning Basins
Most vessels are turned either just before berthing
or when leaving the berth. The minimum diameter
required for turning will depend on whether the vessel
has tug assistance. The following minimum diameters
of a turning basin have been suggested-
Diameter of Turning Basin
With tug assistance 2.0 L
Without tug assistance 4.0 L
 Location & Width of Entrance to a Harbour
The entrance width mainly depends upon the size of the harbour
and the type of ships using it. However in order to reduce the wave
height within Harbour, entrance shall be no wider then necessary to
provide safe navigation and to prevent dangerous current when tide is
coming in and going out.
In general for small harbours, entrance width of 90m, for medium
harbours 120m–150m and for large harbour 150m – 240m may be
adequate.
Entrance shall be leeward side of harbour. But if it is placed on
wind ward side, break water shall overlap so that vessels may pass
through the restricted entrance and be free to turn with the wind before
being hit by the waves.
Velocity of current running through the opening at the ebb tide
should not exceed 1.33 m/sec. so that flowing water does not affect
navigation and also not to create scour at the base of the break water.