Maritime and Port Engineering

Design and construction/Design-build

Design and construction/Design-Build is a method of project delivery in which the consultant and the contractor operate under a single contract with the project owner, to provide professional services. Due to the specialized nature of maritime projects, design and construction projects are often executed for port constructions, breakwaters, jetties, quay walls and terminals. These projects have become increasingly important over the years, especially in private sector markets like oil-and-gas and mining-and-minerals. WSP is proud to offer our clients industry-leading solutions and assistance, as well as design and management services in all aspects of design and construction throughout the project life-cycle.

Diving services

All of WSP’s commercial divers are professional engineers or scientists and hold a relevant degree-level qualification or equivalent.

We provide engineering and environmental underwater expertise for all types of coastal, maritime structural, estuarial, inshore and inland sites, both in the domestic market and internationally, for a wide range of clients.

Ground investigation, remediation and geotechnical services

Our capability as expert Geotechnical Advisors is underpinned by an extensive range of expertise and experience in the investigation and geotechnical design for the marine environment that includes coastal defences, cliff and landslide stabilisation, quay walls, cofferdams, caissons, diaphragm walls, bored and sheet piling, offshore wind farms, sub-sea cables and pipelines, cable landings and Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD), estuary and river bridge crossings, marinas, floating pontoons and sea outfalls, navigation beacons, and immersed and sub-sea transportation and cable tunnels.

Seismic resilient planning and design

WSP is a leader in the seismic design and assessment of port structures with several members of the maritime team engaged in leadership positions in technical committees such as ASCE 61 for both pile-supported and bulkhead wharves. For a new facility, our philosophy essentially involves understanding operations, defining post-event performance requirements of the marine assets, and designing the structure to respond in a predictable way, without sacrificing constructability and cost considerations.

Inspection and repair of marine structures

WSP has proven expertise and a long track record in the marine environment via participation in a variety of port/terminal design and assessment projects. WSP is regularly engaged by federal, public, and private stakeholders to execute regular planned inspections and define whole-life maintenance schedules. By scrutinising maintenance requirements routinely and proactively and incorporating state-of-the-art GIS tools, we are able to prioritize and schedule repairs with minimal impact on existing berths, thereby avoiding costly downtime and ultimately extending lift of the maritime assets.

Wharf, breakwater and berth inspection and design

We use state–of-art technologies to inspect and assess wharves and substructures, including steel sheet piles, tubular piles, concrete caissons, cribs, trestles and dolphins for uses that include industrials, ferries, fishing, and marinas. Our services combine the expertise of an integrated team of diving technicians, engineers, materials scientists, geomatics specialists, and hydrographic surveyors, all working together in order to collect valuable data that allows our clients to make the best decisions for moving their project forward and protecting their investments. We provide the full scope of design services for all port and terminal components, from infrastructure such as wharves, access roads and rail, pavement, utilities, and terminal/building architecture, to structural, mechanical and electrical engineering.

Bulk material handling and storage facilities

At WSP, we also have extensive experience in the planning, design, operation, and capacity assessment of Dry and Liquid Bulk Terminals.

We undertake high-level masterplans and concept designs, develop and assess options for unloading, stacking, storage, reclaiming and loading, prepare engineering designs and procurement documentation, and oversee construction of new bulk facilities and for upgrading of existing facilities.