The design and construction of a marina at St. Paul Island, located in the Bering Sea on one of the Pribilof Islands, posed a demanding set of design challenges in a remote location subject to extreme environmental conditions.

Marina floating dock systems feature unique engineering characteristics. Unlike buildings and bridges, which for the most part are designed to remain stationary, such floating systems are almost always in motion and are therefore far more susceptible to fatigue. And while most buildings will never actually be tested under the full force of the maximum wind or seismic load for which they were designed, floating marinas often experience their maximum design loads at some point in their service life. They are regularly threatened by these design limit forces and, even more, by wind, wave, and storm surges. And floating marinas, like any other structures on water, are subject to corrosion from the saltwater environment. Despite these harsh conditions, modern floating dock marinas can remain in service for more than 50 years.

MAGAZINE: Civil Engineering
ISSUE: November 2011

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