On Tuesday 11 April 2017 the new cruise berth extension at Portland Port was officially opened by Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, in time for the 2017 cruise season. The expert support of Red7Marine has resulted in the delivery of two new dolphins, making Portland one of only a few ports on the south coast that can accommodate vessels of up to 340m in length.

Red7Marine’s extensive marine construction expertise was crucial to the delivery of the project. By working closely alongside project partners TMS Ltd and CMP Thames, Red7Marine was able to provide support at every stage of the project. Two large Dolphins were designed and built 100 metres apart and each one is comprised of a 1,200 tone reinforced concrete platform set on seven, 1.5 metre diameter steel piles. Linked by walkways, the dolphins structurally support ships being moored on the two largest berths of the Port.

Nick Offord, Managing Director of Red7Marine comments: “Portland Port is a fantastic example of a collaborative approach with industry experts delivering an outstanding end result. Providing first class infrastructure is an on-going challenge around the country and Portland Port is leading the way in the provision of this. We enjoyed working alongside project partners, TMS Ltd and CMP Thames to enable this development and I look forward to seeing pictures of the berth in use.”

Bill Reeves, CEO at Portland Port commented, “This is a key investment for the port and demonstrates our commitment to the continued development of our infrastructure. The berth extension enhances our ability to accommodate some of the largest cruise liners in service today, as well as those being launched over the next few years. Working with highly skilled project partners such as Red7Marine provided our team with expert support and an outstanding end result that will serve the surrounding areas for many years to come.”

The first vessel to use the extension will be Holland America’s Koningsdam on Thursday 11 May, followed by the Disney Magic cruise-liner on Tuesday 23 May.

Port staff attended the launch, as well as other tenants and guests. Chris Langham welcomed all attendees with a speech to which Richard Drax followed and cut the ribbon to officially declare the extension as open.