At ports
NewHaven port
Newhaven port was selected as a demonstration site as an additional UK south coast study site. The port also has significant coverage of steel pile walling and other marine steel construction, but in contrast to the Shoreham demonstration site consists of an estuarine channel open to the sea. The site therefore represents a signifcant commercial port facility, with both similarities and contrast to the site selected at Shoreham.
Shoreham port
Shoreham port was selected as a demonstration site as a port facility in an estuarine environment with known corrosion issues. It has also been a site of an ongoing collaboration between the Port Authority and the University of Brighton investigating mechanisms and environmental controls on microbially influenced corrosion and accelerated low water corrosion. As such it had existing monitoring infrastructure at the start of the project, and historical monitoring data that could be used to inform planning, experimental design and the early stages of algorithm development on the SOCORRO project.
Southend-on-sea pier
Southend-on-Sea council were initially full partners in the SOCORRO project, and Southend-on-Sea pier was planned as a demonstration site. For the UK sites it offered a contrasting setting compared to the two south coast, estuarine, port and harbour sites, and a cotrstign structure in terms a pleasure pier with heritage status. The site was included in the baseline environmental sampling program and the results of this are presented here.
Den Helder
The port of Den Helder, located at the facilities of Endures in Bevesierweg 1 in 1781 AT Den Helder (NL), was selected as a demonstration site for the SOCORRO project as a port facility in direct contact with the North Sea. The exposure site in the port of Den Helder, the main naval base in the Netherlands, is representative for North Sea coastal water with high fouling pressure during a fouling season that runs from March to November. Seawater parameters such as temperature, pH, salinity and oxygen concentration are continuously monitored in the lab of Endures.
Oostende
Measurements in Ostend were performed on the dynamic platform DYPLA, built by the team at Antwerp Maritime Academy. This dynamic platform is located at ro-ro quay 202 in the Voorhaven of the port of Ostend at Slijkensesteenweg 4. It is situated at a few hundred meters of the port entrance, allowing access to real seawater and the inherent marine conditions, though there is a regular flow of less salty water past the platform, coming from the Spuikom (a local freshwater basin) or from inland waterways (through the Sas-Slijkens lock).
Vlissingen
The port area of North Sea Port is an area that extends from Ghent to the outer harbour in Vlissingen. The port area has a very large diversity of wet infrastructure, also known as assets. This includes the berths, waterways, mooring buoys, jetties, and quay walls. These quay walls extend over 55.6 km. Because the ports in Vlissingen are strongly influenced by the tides and the saltier seawater, this has a major impact on the degradation of the water-related infrastructure. Moreover, it has a direct influence on the maintenance and management of the various assets.
Zelzate
In the spring of 2021, significant damage was observed to several pleasure craft and other vessels in the marina of Zelzate, in the form of abnormally accelerated corrosion, correlated with a sudden development of bacteria of the genus Gallionella, Rhodanobacter and a number of sulfate-reducing bacteria. A series of tests with steel coupons in this marina and by extension along the Ghent-Terneuzen canal also showed accelerated pitting corrosion, indicating that this bacterium has spread further in the region and may have affected other assets in this industrial zone.
