Harbors and sea works

Introduction
Principles of maritime engineering
- Objectives
- Hydraulic models
- Natural and artificial harbors
Sea works for transportation
- Classical harbor works
- Breakwaters
  - Breakwater design
  - Solid breakwaters
  - Floating breakwaters
- Docks and quays
  - Gravity walls
  - Concrete monoliths
  - Concrete caisson walls
  - The piled jetty
  - The sheet-piled quay
    - Design
    - Structural reinforcement
    - Durability
  - Enclosed docks
- Roll-on, roll-off facilities
- Bulk terminals
- Dry docks
  - Structural requirements
  - Design
    - Entrances
    - Keel and bilge blocks
  - Construction
    - Basic technique
    - Floating dry docks
  - Maintenance
Sea works for reclamation and conservancy
- Dredging
- The Delta Works

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

A long stone breakwater with a lighthouse extends into bright blue water, protecting the small harbor of Nice, France, with hillside buildings in the background.

Related Questions

How are precast concrete caissons used to build quay walls?
How can dredging improve a natural harbor?
How can maintaining an estuary for navigation also help drain floodwater?
How can model studies help engineers reduce the need for harbor dredging?
How can scour threaten the stability of a quay wall?
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How do harbors shelter ships from wind waves and currents?
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How do large tidal ranges affect the design of harbor structures?
How do marinas differ from commercial cargo ports?
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How do tetrapod concrete armor units resist displacement by waves?
How do tidal currents transport sediment near estuaries and inlets?
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How does a piled jetty avoid the need for major excavation below the seabed?
How does a rubble-mound breakwater absorb wave energy?
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How much land may be required for a container-shipping berth?
How were prefabricated caissons used in the Mulberry Harbours during the Normandy invasion?
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What forces must a concrete quay wall resist from the land behind it?
What materials can be used for piles in a jetty?
What role do harbors of refuge serve for ships during dangerous weather?
Why are concrete caisson quay walls especially suitable in regions with small tidal ranges?
Why are floating breakwaters difficult to keep in position during severe weather?
Why are harbor entrances between breakwaters kept as narrow as practical?
Why are oil terminals often built farther offshore than ore terminals?
Why are slight coastal indentations useful locations for artificial harbors?
Why are soil conditions monitored throughout the construction of a quay wall?
Why are timber fenders installed along sheet-piled quay walls?
Why can boulders in the seabed damage steel sheet piles during driving?
Why can hard rock make it difficult to build a piled jetty?
Why can high tides combined with heavy rainfall cause flooding in estuaries?
Why can marine borers limit the use of timber jetties in warm waters?
Why can steel sheet-pile quay walls be curved in plan?
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Why do breakwaters usually have roadways along their crests?
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Why has concrete largely replaced natural stone masonry in quay-wall construction?
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Why is a watertight dry-dock gate important for reducing pumping costs?
Why is an intermediate layer placed between breakwater armor and its inner core?
Why is dredging needed repeatedly in many navigable harbors?
Why must breakwaters be massive structures?
Why must cargo ships remain afloat while they are loaded or unloaded?
Why must the foundations of gravity quay walls extend below the seabed?

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External Websites

National Geographic Society - Harbor

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

harbor - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
harbor and port - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Lorient Yachting harbor at Lorient, France.

Harbors and sea works

civil engineering

Also known as: harbor

Written by

John Holmes Jellett

Civil engineer. Docks engineer, Southampton, England, 1946–66. President, Institution of Civil Engineers, 1968–69.

John Holmes Jellett

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Sep. 25, 2026 •History

Harbors and sea works, any part of a body of water and the constructions surrounding it that sufficiently shelters a vessel from wind, waves, and currents, enabling safe anchorage or the discharge and loading of cargo and passengers. The construction of harbors and sea works offers some of the most unusual problems and challenges in civil engineering. The continuous and immediate presence of the sea provides the engineer with an adversary certain to discover any...

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