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Wildlife South Africa
(00092505)
| Description: | Richards Bay Harbour Aerial photo Richards Bay – Harbour construction Before work began on the great harbour on the east coast of the Republic of South Africa in the province of Natal, the beautiful lagoon of Richards Bay was a secret tip for a few fishers. The lagoon had a length of about 7 km and a width of 5 km and an area of 3050 ha. Also, all around, the nature was completely intact with an exceedingly species-rich fauna and flora. For the harbour expansion half of the entire area of the natural lagoon was needed. By means of a 4.5 kilometer dike, which divides the harbour from the lagoon, the part of the lagoon, which was not needed, was to remain as a nature reserve. The dike was equipped with a flood regulator, which regulates the water level in the remaining lagoon and at the same time uses the high water of the river flowing into the lagoon to flush the harbour. The harbour Richards Bay lies in a natural lagoon, which was dredged to a water depth of 23 m. Two breakwaters – the southern at a length of 1.4 kilometer and the northern at a length of 600 m including the north headland with 480 m, offer protection from the strong all-year-round sea motion of the Indian Ocean. The most important single structures are the two large quay walls for the docking of ships. Each one is 800m long and 30 meters high. On one of the quay walls (coal quay) South African coal is loaded for export (water depth of 23 m, head height of + 5.2 m). The second quay wall (general cargo and mass quay) is designated for general cargo (water depth of – 23 m, head height of + 5.2 m). The harbour basin in the lagoon was dredged to – 19 m. The harbour access channel from the sea side was dredged at a width of approx. 300 m and a length of approx. 7 kilometers to a water depth of 19.50 to 24.0 meters. I (Klaus Jost) was responsible from 1973 to 1976 in Richards Bay for the North Breakwater, North Headland and the lowering of caissons for two berths, harbour dredgers, as well as various underwater operations. Further data on the 1st expansion stage: - 971 m quay wall built for water depths of – 4.0 m to 8.0 m and head heights of + 3.00 m to + 4.30 m. - The 4500 m long dividing dike already mentioned with 46 m head width, weir structure in the dividing dike each with 38 m opening width - Ship slipway for harbour boots - Two berths for harbour dredgers 18 000 t Reinforcement 660 000 m³ Concrete and reinforced concrete 900 000 m³ Filling stones and capstones 170 000 000 m³ Wet dredging 48 500 Pieces dolosse The deepwater harbour is designed for ships of 250000 tdw. and serves above all the export of coal, which is extracted in the east of the province Transvaal. In order to dredge the natural lagoon (the water depth was only 1m in the middle), extensive wet dredging was necessary. The dredging waste amounted to a total of almost 170 millionen cubic meters. Altogether nine large cutter suction dredgers and two hopper dredgers were used. Five large floating intermediate pumping stations and 70 km of flushing lines were required for the transport of the dredge waste. The overall performance of the wet dredgers and the pumping stations amounted to 100 000 PS. On the 1st April 1976, almost 4 years after placing the work contract, the major harbour of Richards Bay was inaugurated. Clients: S.A. Railways and Harbour Administration The contract was awarded in May 1972 to the „RB Six Consortium“ with the following partners: Ackermans en van Haaren NV, Antwerpen, Belgium Adriaan Volker NV, Rotterdam, Holland Ed. Züblin AG, Duisburg, Germany Philipp Holzmann AG, Frankfurt, Germany Van Hattum en Blankevoort, Beverwijk, Holland Zanen Verstoerp NV, Den Haag, Holland I (Klaus Jost/Philipp Holzmann AG, Frankfurt/Main) was responsible from 1973 to 1976 in Richards Bay for the North Breakwater, North Headland and the lowering of caissons for two berths, harbour dredgers, as well as various underwater operations. References Own construction experience during the new harbour construction from 1973 to 1976 Philipp Holzmann – Technical Report on Richards Bay Harbour in South Africa, September 1977 |