Some of the largest concrete breakwaters to have ever been transported by road left Cork Harbour almost a year ago destined for a large international wave attenuation project in Geelong, Australia.
As the UK's Marine Industry News reported, the massive structures travelled by night to disrupt traffic as little as possible on its way to the Port of Cork. The convoy passed through small towns, where street signage and other structures had to be taken down to accommodate the wide load. Even on the motorways, toll booths had to be disassembled to allow passage before it could reach the port where the breakwaters were transferred to cargo ships for the next leg of their journey.
The breakwaters are made by Inland and Coastal Marina Systems which manufactures and exports 6m wide breakwaters from its factory in County Offaly.
“We’re making increasingly larger breakwaters to meet the growing demand to attenuate waves in more exposed sites,” says Maeve Parker, Inland and Coastal Senior Marina Engineer. “We make them in Ireland so that we can tightly control the manufacturing process, ensuring they are high-quality.
The shipping is always a fun challenge though, but the results are well worth it.”
Now the works are nearing completion in Geelong, Afloat will have an update on the Inland and Coastal Marina Systems project from down under shortly. The company has also recently completed an extension to a marina in the Hebrides as Afloat reports here.
