Swell prevents Dover Marina use
Dover Harbour Board is seeking to install a 70m outer wave wall screen in an attempt to solve problems with swell at the new Dover Marina in Kent.
Following the completion of the marina in the Outer Harbour, officials found that wave heights under southwesterly storm conditions, in combination with high water, led to the ‘unacceptable movement of the floating pontoons’.
A 14.4m-long inner wave wall screen was installed at the entrance to the marina, between the Marina Curve and the new Marina Pier, in December 2020, but a review has found that ‘further wave attenuation measures’ are needed before the facility can be used by boats.
The board has applied to the Marine Management Organisation for a Harbour Revision Order and a marine licence to build a larger outer wave wall screen, which is designed to protect the entrance to the marina ‘from wave energy reflected from the north-eastern corner of the harbour at high water.’
It will be made out of up to 59 contiguous tubular steel piles similar to those used to construct the inner wave wall screen. The new marina is part of the £250 million Western Docks Revival project, which includes plans for bars, cafés and restaurants along the waterfront.
In a statement to Yachting Monthly, The Port Of Dover said it had consulted with berth holders, stakeholders and the community on the project, which was ‘widely welcomed’, and the swell problem had been well publicised. It said it had made ‘good progress’ on the new marina, despite the challenges of Brexit and Covid-19, and ‘access roads, car parking, a large public area [and] ablution facilities’ had been installed.
It added that the inner wave wall had ‘delivered significant improvement’ to ‘the swell situation that was shown to occur very occasionally during specific weather conditions’.