Maryland Port Administration On-Call Underwater Inspections

Client: Maryland Port Administration

Location: Baltimore, Maryland

Services: Marine Engineering

KCI provided Professional Engineering diving services at various waterfront facilities for the Maryland Port Administration’s marine terminals on an as-needed basis which included: Dundalk Marine Terminal (DMT), Seagirt Marine Terminal (SMT), North Locust Point Marine Terminal (NLPMT), South Locust Point Marine Terminal (SLPMT), Fairfield Marine Terminal (FMT), and Hawkins Point. These inspections were performed in all weather conditions in limited or no underwater visibility conditions in water depths up to 60 feet deep. The assignments varied from one day investigations of specific problems such as sinkholes, damage inspections or local failures of structure components, to more time consuming detailed inspections of entire piers, bulkheads, or relieving platforms. In addition to investigative and condition inspection tasks, KCI’s divers also provided construction inspection services on a variety of repair/rehabilitation projects. Typical Tasks Included:

Underwater Inspection at North and South Locust Point Marine Terminal, Baltimore, MD. KCI provided underwater inspections services for Piers 3, 4, 5, and 10 at NLPMT where fill was being lost and causing sink holes behind the steel sheet pile walls at these piers. Fill was also being lost from behind the steel sheet pile loading wharf at SLPMT which also needed to be investigated. A hands-on underwater inspection of all of the steel sheet pile walls was performed in order to locate all points/holes in the walls were fill was being lost. Upon locating all of the holes, an Ultrasonic Thickness (UT) Gauge was used to determine the remaining thickness of the surrounding steel sheeting. Upon completion of the inspection, a detailed underwater inspection report complete with locations of deteriorated areas, UT test results, underwater and above water photographs, and repair recommendations was provided to the client.

Emergency Underwater Inspection of Berth 7 at Dundalk Marine Terminal, Baltimore, MD. KCI provided emergency underwater inspection services after a container ship hit Berth 7 at DMT. A 20 foot length of the wharf was severely damaged and engineer divers from KCI provided a detailed underwater inspection and condition assessment of the damaged area. The above water portion of the wharf was heavily damaged and a number of support piles for the structure were severely damaged or broken after the collision. The divers had to use extreme caution while performing the inspection because of the instability of the damaged facility and very limited underwater visibility. A detailed inspection report was prepared and submitted to the client quickly after the completion of the inspection.

Underwater Inspection of Pier 3 at North Locust Point Marine Terminal, Baltimore, MD. KCI provided a detailed underwater structural condition and survey of the underwater components of Pier 3 at SLPMT. Due to numerous expansions and reconstructions to the pier that was originally built in the early 1900’s, MPA required an up to date underwater inspection report complete with repair recommendations and drawings of the facility’s substructure. The timber substructure of the pier totaled approximately 1000 feet in length and 150 feet in width, and most of the inspection was classified as a confined space underwater inspection.

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