Berthing at boatfolk’s Gosport-based Haslar Marina in the UK is being boosted with the installation of a 70m wave attenuating breakwater in an exposed area of the marina.

As part of this two-phase project, pontoon and water access specialist Inland and Coastal Marina Systems (ICMS) of County Offaly has designed and manufactured a bespoke floating concrete breakwater to reduce the wave climate in a particularly exposed section of the marina close to the entrance of Portsmouth Harbour.

The first phase is now complete and comprises the installation of two 60-ton 20m x 4m floating concrete breakwater units, carefully orientated to fit within the major reshaping of the marina which also involved realigning the green lightship, a prominent feature in this busy corner of the marina.

Extending the frontage of the marina, the protection this new fully serviced floating breakwater provides will enable Haslar Marina to create 45 new berths in the main part of the marina, as well as act as berthing for larger boats and superyachts.

“Over the last couple of years, as boating has boomed, demand for quality berthing across the UK has increased,” says Jon Challis, Sales Manager at ICMS. “With space tight in many marinas, they’re looking at using sites not previously used due to exposed conditions. This is where our floating concrete breakwaters come in.

“They are designed specifically to reduce waves to a level where sheltered and comfortable berthing, either in a harbour or marina, can be provided – ensuring berth holders and visitors get a good night’s sleep.

“Combining high strength and flexibility, our concrete breakwaters are built to withstand severe weather and wave action. Being fit for purpose does make the units heavy, which means they can be challenging to transport and manoeuvre, but working closely with the team at boatfolk, and experienced local marine contractor, Baker Trayte, the installation has been seamless. Haslar Marina now has the first phase of the protection it needs to expand its berthing facilities.”

Phase two is expected to start shortly, adding two 15m x 4m floating concrete units to the breakwater – completing the full 70-metres of the wave attenuation programme.

Lucas Shotts, Operations Director at boatfolk Marina Group, comments: “Since the inception of the project and the initial site analysis and design, the team at Inland and Coastal have been superb in their input and assistance in achieving the right product within our budget.

“There has been a huge amount of detailed knowledge shared between us which has resulted in the installation of a high-quality and extremely effective floating breakwater in a harsh and busy environment at one of our most important marinas. It has been a pleasure working with the great crew at Inland and Coastal and we have become a really strong team.”

Pontoon manufacturer and water access specialist, Inland and Coastal Marina Systems, is celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary on its stand (J150) at the Southampton International Boat Show, 16-25 September 2022.

Born out of Banagher Precast Concrete (BPC), an Irish precast concrete manufacturer which started producing concrete jetties in 1990, Inland and Coastal Marina Systems (ICMS) was set up by Oliver and Claire Shortall in 2002, while Oliver was still working for BPC.

“When I joined Banagher, it had just started developing floating jetties,” says Oliver. “I could see that there was a growing market for pontoons and jetties in Ireland, but Banagher was focused on other sectors, so when the opportunity arose for me to buy the jetty side of the business, we started Inland and Coastal.”

With demand strong, and no other company manufacturing pontoons in Ireland, ICMS went from strength to strength. Based in Co. Offaly, the company opened offices in Lossiemouth, Scotland in 2015 and in Hamble, England in 2018.

Now employing over 50 people, ICMS designs, manufactures and installs pontoons and concrete breakwaters in marinas, yacht harbours and commercial ports worldwide, including Mexico, Australia and France.

“I’m delighted with how the business and our product portfolio have grown over the last 20 years,” continues Oliver. “Building on the development of the Glass Reinforced Concrete (GRC) decking and the first concrete breakwaters at BPC in 1998, we developed continuous concrete pontoons in 2013 and started our heavy-duty pontoon range in 2014, in addition to our standard leisure marina pontoons.

“Because we came out of Banagher Concrete, we’ve always taken the approach that every product we make should be built with robustness, so it’ll last. And today, that’s what people associate us with which has led to new business in the burgeoning offshore wind and renewables sector, building pontoons for crew transfer vessels (CTV) and operation and maintenance bases (O&M).”

At the Southampton International Boat Show, on stand J150 at 14.00hrs on Friday, 16 September, the team at Inland and Coastal Marina Systems will be raising a glass of real Irish Guinness to celebrate this 20-year milestone for the company.

Working closely with UK-based Leigh and Lowton Sailing Club, County Offaly based Inland and Coastal Marinas Systems (ICMS) has upgraded the club’s water access for a range of watersports, including sailing and kayaking.

Replacing the existing uneven and slippery units, ICMS designed and manufactured an 18m x 2.4m mixed watersports pontoon, featuring a bespoke walkway with mooring points.

Located in front of the sailing club near Warrington, the new pontoon has 300mm of freeboard and hardwood timber fendering, providing easy launch and recovery for a wide variety of recreational craft.

Topped with ICMS’ GRP mini mesh decking, Leigh and Lowton’s club members now have a more stable and non-slip platform for launching their boats to enjoy time on the water.

“We looked at several options to improve our launching pontoon, including doing the whole job ourselves,” says the club’s facilities manager, Howard Green.

“We choose to work with Inland and Coastal as we liked their ‘can-do’ collaborative approach, practical help and workable, quality solution. Our members are delighted with the result. We have a great new launching area for all our boats including our RIBs.”

Jon Challis, sales manager at ICMS, comments: “By working closely with Howard, discussing the various possible approaches, particularly with regards to sourcing the pile moorings locally, meaningful savings on the overall budget were achieved. We hope that the club members continue to enjoy their new facility for many years to come.”

Leitrim County Council has recently improved shoreside access to its Carrick on Shannon public marina, replacing its existing fixed boardwalk with a new 340m long by 2.4m wide floating walkway.

Working with Deane Public Works, Inland and Coastal Marina Systems (ICMS), designed and manufactured the new installation which includes a 3m wide fuel berth and eight access gangways with lifebuoy housings and safety ladders, all anchored in place by a new piled mooring system.

The heavy-duty pontoon system, topped with ICMS’ unique glass-reinforced concrete (GRC) decking, provides safe and non-slip, all-year-round access to the marina’s on-site facilities for the public and all leisure boat users, which includes local boat hire companies.

“Being a very popular cruising area, it was important that we completed the installation with as minimal disruption as possible to the local access,” says Ger Buckley, project engineer at ICMS. “We achieved this by taking a phased approach, closely liaising with all contractors and programming the activities in.”

Wrapping around the entire length of the marina site, the public boardwalk now connects the quayside to the access road and car park, allowing users to enter the marina via a new gangway on the eastern side, and exit on the northern side.

“We’re delighted with the quality of the new boardwalk, an attractive upgrade to the waterfront providing a strong, stable walkway for visitors,” says Shay O’Connor, senior engineer with Leitrim County Council. “Even though conditions were challenging at times with access routes being periodically submerged, the team at Inland and Coastal completed the installation efficiently and without disrupting the activities of the regular commercial users of the marina.

“The boardwalk will provide a new walking route along the waterfront for both locals and visitors and new access for users of leisure vessels which cruise along this section of the River Shannon, boosting the tourist industry which plays a major role here in Carrick on Shannon’s economy.”

To find out more about Inland and Coastal’s pontoon ranges and unique decking options visit here

Eleven teams from across the UK marine industry set sail in RS 21 keelboats yesterday from Hayling Island Sailing Club (HISC) to compete in the 2021 Marine Industry Cup.

The teams enjoyed breakfast and a pre-race briefing outside HISC’s club house before the first six crews took to the water at 09:30. The day comprised 15 short sharp races in the six RS 21s keelboats. The 11 teams took turns competing on a tightly controlled rolling schedule, with each team completing between seven and ten races.

The wind was light to begin with but built during the day, offering the crews of four reasonable conditions for some very close racing, with small errors costing experienced teams valuable points.

Following the last race of the day, the competing the teams made their way back to HISC, arriving at 16:30 for a hot post-race supper and prize giving.

Inland and Coastal Marina Systems pipped the team from HISC to first place and was awarded the Marine Industry Cup. Headed up by Jon Challis, the team received the trophy plus a Leatherman multi-tool each.

The award for the Most Fun on the Water went to Martin Leaning Masts and Rigging, with the all-female crew being presented with a bottle of Salcombe Gin.

Sponsored by RS Sailing and Marine Industry News, this fun and competitive event raised funds for Friends of PICU, a charity which supports children and their families on the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in Southampton Children’s Hospital. A cheque for £1200 was presented to the unit’s lead consultant Iain Macintosh, who said thank you and “don’t worry about the money, it’s really needed and will be well spent.”

Speaking after the racing Jon Partridge from RS Sailing said: “Thank you to everyone for making it such a pleasure. A great day to sail with a great bunch of people, and that’s what makes the marine industry so special. We’re so proud to support an event that inspires such a buzz about our industry. We’ll be back next year, bigger and better.”

Marine Industry Cup 2021 Results

• 1st – Inland and Coastal Marina Systems
• 2nd – HISC
• 3rd – A-Plan Insurance
• 4th – Sandy Point Chandlery
• 5th – Lewmar (Z)
• 6th – Bainbridge International
• 7th – Marine Industry News
• 8th – Barton Marine
• 9th – Martin Leaning Masts and Rigging Ltd
• 10th – Pains Wessex
• 11th – Lewmar (L)

See full Results here 

Inland and Coastal Marina Systems (ICMS) of County Offaly has designed and manufactured a bespoke berth for the Port of Portland’s new tugboat in the UK.

The Irish firm has been completing projects across the UK, and as Afloat reported recently, some high profile projects in Australia too.

To accommodate the vessel within the existing operational pontoons, and factor in its higher freeboard, ICMS manufactured a unique 21.5m heavy-duty pontoon with a tailor-made 750mm freeboard.

As Marine Industry News reports, following the purchase of a new tugboat in Turkey to support growing business, Portland Harbour Authority’s latest acquisition arrived in early April.

“We are pleased with our existing Inland and Coastal harbour workboat pontoons. I was confident their practical, design engineering skills would solve our new tugboat berth requirement in a tight corner of the harbour,” says Alex Hayes, general manager dryside.

“Within no time at all they had worked out how to make it fit and resolved connecting into existing pontoons and access ways at different levels.”

Benefitting from the new pontoon’s Glass Reinforced Fibre (Work Surface) decking, the tugboat’s crew will have a durable, anti-slip surface to board the tug from, which means safe access all year round, whatever the weather, according to Inland and Coastal Marina Systems.

“Our heavy-duty pontoons are specifically designed for this type of application as they can be adapted to suit a customer’s specific needs, the location and existing infrastructure,” says ICMS sales manager, Jon Challis.

“Once we’d found the solution and the design was agreed, we worked closely with the Portland Harbour Authority to deliver the new berthing facility on time and on budget, ready for its new tugboat’s arrival.”

County Offaly firm Inland and Coastal Marinas Ltd has delivered the longest public floating wave attenuator – or breakwater – now installed in Australia at the Geelong Waterfront Safe Harbour Precinct project in the state of Victoria.

Working with local firm Poralu Marine the major work has just been completed at Royal Geelong Yacht Club (RGYC), with Poralu the main general contractor for this turn-key multi-million-dollar project.

Just six months ago, the wide load was navigating Birr town on its way down under as as Afloat reported here

The heavy-duty wide floating concrete wave attenuator that was shipped from Ireland last November will now protect the first stage of a brand-new aluminium made marina.

The harbour that could previously shelter 280 berths has been completely remodelled simultaneously with the waterfront. The fixed jetties will eventually be replaced by the floating versatile system to offer around 360 berths which can moor boats ranging from eight to twenty-seven meters.

The Inland and Coastal Marina Ltd produced massive concrete structure was shipped from Ireland last November

This project marks an important milestone for the Victorian shores. Wangim Walk (which means boomerang in the Wadawurrung language) is a 440-metre-long concrete public wave attenuator and amongst the longest built in Australia in a similar area exposed to strong winds. With its width of five to six meters and its 20-meter-long gangway, the wave attenuator is highly noticeable and was designed not only to welcome visitors for a unique on-water experience but also as a wave protection for the harbour and to facilitate the berthing of temporary vessels and mega yachts.

RGYC General Manager Phil Clohesy declares: “The Royal Geelong Yacht Club is delighted to deliver this iconic new feature to the Geelong waterfront and community. Wangim Walk functions as a floating breakwater to protect the harbour and allow for RGYC to operate floating docks safely and successfully. Well-protected marinas are the most sought-after marina facilities for all boaters, so this is great news for the waterfront. We look forward to Wangim Walk bringing pleasure to all those who live in the city and region and those who come to visit our beautiful bay and waterfront.”

County Offaly marine construction firm Inland and Coastal Marinas Ltd has installed heavy-duty workboat pontoons at Fraserburgh Harbour, in the North-East corner of Scotland providing new crew transfer vessel berthing facilities for the Moray East Offshore Windfarm.

With electricity and lighting, this all-in-one base for the daily servicing and refuelling of the CTVs during the ongoing maintenance of the wind farm can be used safely all year round, any time of the day or night.

Working for the Department of Agriculture Food and Marine, Dunmore East Fishery Harbour Centre and liaising closely with the RNLI, Inland and Coastal Marina Systems (ICMS) has designed, manufactured and installed a new berth for Dunmore East RNLI’s all-weather Trent class lifeboat.

Installed in December 2020, the new berthing facility has been built to service the RNLI as well as provide safe and secure access ashore for various users, including cruise ship passengers.

The shared 27m long x 7m wide steel tubular pontoon is a new product from ICMS, employing waterproofing and paint system technologies not previously used on its other projects. Moored on piles, it has a 32m access gangway and is surfaced with durable Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) decking with excellent anti-slip properties, offering all users confident footing on a stable platform.

“Weighing in at 90 tonnes, we fabricated the tubular pontoon in six pieces to make it less challenging to manoeuvre,” says Oliver Shortall, Managing Director at ICMS. “We then joined the pieces together in the dry dock at New Ross Boat Yard in Co. Wexford prior to floating the massive structure and towing it to its new home at Dunmore East.”

Cormac O Donoghue from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine comments: “Working closely with us to fully understand the brief and what needed to be achieved, Inland and Coastal developed a bespoke solution catering for all stakeholders.

“The RNLI now has somewhere secure for its crew to launch from, allowing them to provide a safe environment for anyone out on the water in the area, while the cruise ship passengers can easily access the bustling fishing village, increasing footfall to local businesses during the tourist season.”

To find out more about Inland and Coastal’s pontoon ranges and unique decking options visit here

Responding to increased demand for berthing, Inland and Coastal Marina Systems has designed and manufactured a 33-berth extension to the popular Newark Marina in the UK.

Situated on a non-tidal section of the River Trent, Newark Marina’s expansion has not been without its challenges. Extensive flooding, buried vehicles and the ongoing pandemic have caused disruption to the realisation of Managing Director James Wilkinson’s vision of a bright and attractive new extension to the picturesque inland marina.

The endeavour, also using local contractor Action Demolition, garnered a great deal of interest in the area, resulting in early demand from the local boating community keen to secure one of the new berths.

"The marina plays an important part in the local community,” says James. “Our new berths will give an important boost to the local economy, attracting, as it does, boaters from far and wide. We’ve already seen a strong take up in berths and would encourage anyone interested in keeping their boat with us to get in touch.”

Ironically, the onset of Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown in March unlocked availability of important local earthmoving plant that enabled the team to catch up on lost time, moving the project forward.

Working closely with James and his team, Inland and Coastal ensured the new standard leisure pontoon system, with terracotta Glass Reinforced Concrete (GRC) decking, was available for delivery as soon the ground works were complete, ready for his team to install themselves, creating substantial savings for the marina.

“James had a very clear idea of what he wanted to achieve with the marina expansion, giving his berth holders a very pleasant place to stay,” says Jon Challis, Sales Manager at Inland and Coastal. “Disruptions to works, due to flooding and the coronavirus, meant uncertainty and installation dates moving as the situation unfolded, but we kept in touch throughout and were able to deliver as soon as he was ready.”

With the installation now finally nearing completion, James comments: "I am really pleased with the outcome. We went for Inland and Coastal's own specialist GRC decking system because it gives a much brighter, lighter feeling to the marina, whilst offering great stability and grip underfoot for our berth holders."

To find out more about Inland and Coastal’s pontoon ranges and unique decking options here