Optimized Design Addresses Site and Constructability Challenges for Container Wharf in Iraq

Basra Gateway Terminal (BGT), an ICTSI company, is undertaking the expansion of its container terminal at Umm Qasr, Iraq, to increase throughput and accommodate larger vessels. The expansion includes construction of a 1,000-foot (300-meter) extension (Berths 25/26) of an existing marginal wharf (Berth 27), designed to serve super-post-Panamax vessels and new high- capacity ship-to-shore (STS) cranes with a target design working life of 50 years. Associated with the marginal wharf extension is the evaluation of the existing 680-foot-long (208 meters) Berth 27 marginal wharf to support the new STS cranes with wheel loads up to 65 percent higher than the existing STS cranes. Because of challenging site conditions—up to 40 feet (12.2 meters) of soft to very stiff clay stratum underlain by medium to very dense sand layers with high calcium carbonate content and limited marine construction capabilities of local contractors— construction of the marginal wharf extension (Berths 25/26) called for the implementation of a contractor-friendly structural solution to enable the achievement of target pile capacities and penetration for lateral stiffness to allow early dredging of the slope and berthing pocket and to expedite wharf construction. The paper describes the most relevant features of the Berth 25/26 wharf extension design for vertical and lateral loads, including slope stability analyses, and elaborates on how the top-down construction system was deployed and implemented and how the concrete deck was constructed. It also summarizes the different analytical techniques that were adopted to reduce costly upgrades of the existing Berth 27 wharf.