- Key People:
- Isambard Kingdom Brunel
- Sir Benjamin Baker
- John Rennie
- Related Topics:
- Harbors and sea works
- dry dock
- pontoon dock
dock
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What is a dock in sea works?
A dock is an artificially enclosed basin where vessels are brought for inspection and repair. Docks can be dry basins, isolated from the water for building and repairing ships, or wet basins, open to the water, providing berthing space for ships during traffic and cargo transfer.
The term dock is often used to indicate all waterfront docking facilities, either dry basin or berthing structures such as quay walls, wharves, piers, and floating pontoon docks. Commercial quays are built open to the tide range to provide maximum freedom for shipping. In some parts of the world, quay walls may become uneconomical, and the quays may be constructed as enclosed docks where the water level is constant, and access to the tidal areas is through locks.
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What is the main purpose of a dock?
Docks are artificially enclosed basins used for vessel inspection and repair. Originally, they served as dry basins for building and repairing ships and as wet basins providing berthing space for ships during traffic and cargo transfer. While the term dock now generically refers to all waterfront docking facilities, including quay walls, piers, and wharves, their primary purpose remains to provide a secure and sheltered space for vessels during various operations.
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How do docks help ships load and unload goods?
Docks facilitate the loading and unloading of goods by providing a secure and sheltered space for ships to berth. They act as a crucial interface, allowing the efficient transfer of cargo between vessels and land-based transportation.
Docks come in various forms, such as quay walls, wharves, and piers, each designed to optimize cargo handling. Modern docks incorporate advanced mechanical devices, including cranes and conveyor belts, to expedite the movement of goods. The introduction of containerization has further revolutionized the process, with specialized ships and shoreside terminals enabling rapid container transfer.
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What are the different types of docks used in sea works?
Docks are artificially enclosed basins used for vessel inspection and repair. They come in different types, including dry docks, quay walls, wharves, piers, and floating pontoon docks.
- Dry docks Rectangular basins with removable gates, used for major ship repairs. They are pumped dry to support the vessel on blocks.
- Quay walls Retaining walls along the shore topped with a deck, serving as a barrier and staging area.
- Wharves Trestle-mounted platforms parallel to the shoreline with a passageway to the shore, used for berthing.
- Piers Platforms extending over the water, typically perpendicular to the shore, for mooring vessels and transferring cargo.
- Floating pontoon docks Docks that rise and fall with the water level, guided by sheet-steel piling.
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How do engineers build and protect docks against waves and tides?
Engineers use several strategies to build and protect docks from the forces of waves and tides. Breakwaters, including solid and floating ones, are constructed to absorb or deflect wave energy, reducing its impact on dock structures. Solid breakwaters can be made using concrete caissons, which are floated into place and filled with rubble or concrete.
To accommodate large tidal ranges, enclosed docks with constant water levels and access locks can be used. Quay walls, often made of Portland cement or concrete, protect the shore and provide a stable platform for cargo transfer. Piled jetties, using timber, reinforced concrete, or steel piles, offer an alternative to seabed operations, with design adaptations for tidal ranges and marine conditions. Hydraulic models are also used to study wave and tidal effects on proposed designs, optimizing the placement and structure of breakwaters.
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Why are docks and other sea works important for trade and transportation?
Docks, wharves, and quays are vital for trade and transportation because they facilitate the transfer of goods between ships and land-based transport like trucks. They provide ships with safe harbor to offload cargo using mechanical devices. These structures need firm, dry land alongside deep water to accommodate large vessels. The economic challenge posed by the increase in the size of modern ships is considerable.
The Pacific Ocean supports some of the world’s most important trade routes. The growth in trade has increased the size of its transportation infrastructure.
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dock, artificially enclosed basin into which vessels are brought for inspection and repair.
A brief treatment of docks follows. For full treatment, see harbours and sea works.
Originally, docks were used for many purposes: as dry basins, isolated from the water by dikes or other means, they served as a place for building and repairing ships (dry docks); as wet basins, open to the water, they provided berthing space for ships in the normal course of traffic and cargo transfer. The latter function was later rendered by another group of structures especially designed for that purpose and given different designations such as quay wall, pier, and wharf. The term dock is still often used in a generic sense to indicate all waterfront docking facilities, either dry basin or berthing structures.
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Docks used as berthing structures include quay walls, wharves, piers, and floating pontoon docks. Perhaps the oldest and most common waterfront facility for vessels, the quay wall is simply a retaining wall along the shore topped with a deck or platform, serving both as a barrier to protect the shore and as a staging area for cargo and passengers. Usually earth is placed behind the wall in order to build up the deck to the needed height above the prevailing high water level. In addition, it may be necessary to do some dredging in front of the wall to obtain the required water depth.
Portland cement, either poured in place or used as precast blocks, has supplanted stone as the leading quay-wall material. The entire system also may be built of timber or of concrete framing, with concrete or sheet steel piling used as retaining walls.
At locations where the conformation of the shore and depth of water do not favour economical construction of a quay wall, a wharf, consisting of a trestle-mounted rectangular platform running parallel to the shoreline, and with a connecting passageway to the shore, may be constructed. Normally only the front or seaward side of a wharf is used for berthing, because the water depth and accessibility on the other three sides may not be suitable for many vessels.
Because quay walls occupy valuable waterfront space, docking cost at a quay wall is high. A more economical expedient is the pier, which in its simplest form is merely a platform extending over the water, usually at right angles to the shoreline. Vessels can be moored to the pier, which serves as a transfer platform for cargo and passengers. A pier is composed of two main parts: the deck and its supporting system. The deck is usually built of reinforced concrete, though timber may be used. The supporting system is an assembly of beams, girders, and bearing piles, framed together to form a series of bents or trestles. The framing material may be wood, concrete, steel, or a combination of these. In some piers with concrete framing, the deck and walls are cast together to form an enclosed cellular structure. The buoyancy of such a structure greatly reduces the load on the foundations, and the interior space can be utilized for storage.
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Floating pontoon docks, of which few have been built, rise and fall with the water level. One such dock floats up or down guided by walls of sheet-steel piling driven to bedrock, which serves to anchor or moor the whole assemblage. Access to shore is provided by a trestle hinged at the shore end and resting freely on the pontoon at the other end.