on 1 Mar 2023
The new pontoon on Hei Ling Chau is built to withstand extreme weather events
SF Marina has been appointed by the Hong Kong government to construct a new typhoon shelter basin, on Hei Ling Chau.
Hei Ling Chau is a small island off the east coast of Hong Kong’s Lantau Island, which is home to an addiction treatment centre and two correctional institutions. Due to frequent tropical cyclones in the region, the Hong Kong government determined the waters off Hei Ling Chau’s western shore would make an ideal typhoon shelter basin with the addition of a 700m floating concrete wave attenuator array from SF Marina.
Prior to this SF Marina project, the basin was surrounded by a two-section fixed-rock breakwater that only protected the area under normal storm conditions. The Hong Kong government says it chose SF Marina because it could manufacture the wave attenuator quickly in Asia and has a proven track record of installations successfully surviving severe storms.
SF Marina pontoons are built to withstand extreme weather events, and are described as ‘virtually unsinkable’ thanks to a unique connection system that handles stress loads via rubber cylinders and wires. The sections are moored using 114 large cast concrete block anchors and chains.
The pontoons and anchors were manufactured by SF Marina Korea Ltd. and shipped to Hong Kong. There they were unloaded, floated into position using a tug and installed.
Since 1918, Gothenburg, Sweden-based SF Marina has engineered and manufactured floating breakwaters and concrete dock pontoons, and related marine structures that are built to withstand extreme weather events. Through a network of international offices, it has completed recreational and commercial vessel projects around the globe.
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