Design and Construction of Cruise Berth for Colon 2000, Panama

Colón 2000 operates a one-berth cruise facility on the Caribbean coast of Panama. In late 2007, the owner decided to build another berth and terminal dedicated to serving Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. The owner selected Intercoastal Marine Inc. (IMI) to furnish the berth within a year on a design/build basis. IMI selected BergerABAM to provide pre-award engineering, construction documents, and construction support services for the berthing structure, which was planned as a marginal wharf and mooring dolphins. The main elements of the project included a 200-meter-long (656 feet) by 20-meter- wide (66 feet) marginal wharf, two 160-tonne breasting line dolphins, and two 120- tonne mooring line dolphins. After initial study, using a sheet pile bulkhead concept was eliminated due to weak soils above the bearing Gatun stratum, high cost, and schedule risk. An open pile-supported wharf concept that overcame the cost and schedule risks was selected instead, to be built over an engineered underdeck slope. The wharf option was made more viable by installing stone columns under the wharf footprint to improve the weak soils and increase the slope stability for both static and dynamic conditions. The wharf structural system consists of precast concrete piles supporting a platform made of precast concrete transverse cap beams, precast concrete deck panels, and cast-in-place topping. This system, which resulted in a very durable structure, used locally produced components and expedited construction to complete wharf design and construction in only 10 months and allow IMI to meet the tight December 2008 deadline for berthing the first vessel. Construction challenges included stone column installation using a top-feeding system, close interaction with dredging activities, and slope dredging in presence of coral. The Colón 2000 terminal became the first homeport for Freedom-class cruise vessels in the southern Caribbean that sail from Colón to other Caribbean destinations. Latin American tourists no longer need to begin their cruise at a U.S. port which requires obtaining a U.S. visa. The new berth supplements the existing terminal and allows more than double the vessel calls during the short cruise season.