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.”
