A section of the container terminal quay at Cape Town Port was raised, and then had to be modified to incorporate power cables for the gantries, as well as not pose a trip hazard for personnel working on the quay.

The brief

The electric cables that feed power to the gantries had to be hidden in a channel within the new composite panels. Concrete was considered as an option, however, to build up the 190mm area to the water side of the gantry rails would weigh approximately 1,000 tons.

The solution

Composite panels were designed, tested and then manufactured in South Africa by Aerontec. These panels had to be strong enough to withstand huge loads, be weather resistant for many years, and had to be installed in such a way as to minimize down time.

GRP composite infused glass resin panels were manufactured and water-jet cut to fit into each other like a giant puzzle. The panels had to be installed with a 5mm height tolerance over the entire 1,3km of the quay. The total weight of all the panels was approximately 260 tons. Panels were fastened to the concrete jetty structure using stainless steel bolts and bonded in with a special adhesive.