One homeowner on the island of Via Lido recently decided to upgrade his private dock from a wood fixed-pier system to a newly reconfigured concrete dock system. Bellingham Marine was contracted by the owner to lead and manage the project from start to finish, utilizing a design/build approach.
Newport Harbor is one of the largest recreational harbors on the west coast and known as the Jewel of Newport Beach. The semi-artificial harbor was formed in the early 1900s after the Newport Bay estuary was dredged. Shortly after, seven man-made islands were built and what was once a harbor that supported a range of marine-related industries from boat and shipbuilding to commercial fishing is now used almost entirely for recreational purposes such as boating, kayaking, and stand-up paddle boarding.
Newport Harbor is home to nearly 9,000 boats, and its shores are lined with private homes and about 900 of which have private docks. As the recreational market in Newport Harbor continues to grow, many of its homeowners are choosing to invest in upgrades. Continue Reading…
Bellingham Marine Announces Australasia Transition Plan.

John Spragg (left), Bellingham Marine President of Australasia and the Middle East, has announced his retirement effective July 1, 2021. Bruce Birtwistle (right), General Manager of New Zealand, has been chosen as his successor.
Newport Beach, CA, USA – 17 March 2021 – After 25 years of exemplary service, John Spragg, Bellingham Marine President of Australasia and the Middle East, has announced his retirement effective July 1, 2021. Following his retirement, he will continue to serve as a Director of the company. Bruce Birtwistle has been chosen as John’s successor. Bruce has worked directly for John over the last decade as the General Manager of New Zealand.
After a devastating hurricane made landfall over Texas in 2017, the University of Texas, Marine Science Institute underwent a total renovation and modernization to rebuild what was destroyed and better serve its students and research efforts. The Institute’s leadership had a vision of a new marina that was modern, uniform, innovative, and would provide greater protection against increasingly severe natural disasters in the Gulf of Mexico and Bellingham Marine’s team provided an approach to the project with a site-specific plan.

University of Texas, Marine Science Institute (UTMSI)
For two weeks at the end of August 2017 Hurricane Harvey, a massive category 4 hurricane, made landfall in Texas three times in six days. As the storm made its way to shore from Gulf of Mexico, the University of Texas, Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) was caught directly in its devastating path. UTMSI, located in Port Aransas, Texas, was founded in 1941 with a mission to expand and advance knowledge of coastal and blue-water ocean areas through research, education, and outreach programs. Its main campus is situated on over seventy acres of beach-front property, purposefully positioned in the mouth of the Aransas Channel next to the Gulf of Mexico. UTMSI has a five-acre marina basin which provides access for their research vessels to both the Gulf of Mexico and bay systems. In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey UTMSI suffered considerable damage to its costal infrastructure and damaged the tidal basin on which the institute relies heavily for its research.
Although much of the property was affected by the storm, the majority of the damage occurred to the existing seawall and timber fixed docks systems. After the damage was assessed UTMSI set out to both repair and replace sections of the marina’s infrastructure and rebuild the entirety of the harbor’s marina. The university’s management determined that a total renovation and modernization of the harbor was necessary to better serve its students and research efforts. UTMSI began the process to find a partner to take on this project and became acquainted with Bellingham Marine though a renovation project that was ongoing in the City of Port Aransas Marina just a half mile away. University representatives were impressed with the product, delivery, and construction provided by Bellingham at the nearby project and initially engaged BMI to provide consultation, a review of the marina’s layout and to assist with coordination between the landside and waterside infrastructure while collaborating with the design engineer. However, it was quickly determined that Bellingham was the most qualified firm to lead the project and was contracted to lead both the design and rebuild of all waterside facilities.
Bellingham Marine has completed a redevelopment project at Neptune Marina; marking a project built for the future of local boaters and guests while maintaining the character of the historic waterfront for generations to come.

Neptune Marina, Marina Del Rey, CA
Bellingham Marine has just completed a redevelopment project at Neptune Marina, located on the coast of Southern California in Marina Del Rey. The harbor is known as America’s largest man-made small craft port and is home to over 4,600 boat slips in 22 separate anchorages. Neptune Marina is owned by Greystar Real Estate Partners and accompanies a brand new 526-unit waterfront apartment community situated in Basin B of the harbor. The marina provides boat slips for the connecting apartments as well as transient slips on behalf of Los Angeles County, providing public access to the adjacent hotel.
The Neptune Marina design and rebuild project began in 2015 and through an arduous permitting process was completed in a single phase in 2020. The project replaced an aging marina system composed of concrete piles and wooden docks with a state-of-the-art floating concrete dock system. The new Bellingham Marine infrastructure features prestressed concrete guide piles, timber walers, fiberglass thru-rods and rounded finger ends. The walers are capped with a protective composite deck that seamlessly transitions to planking at adjacent triangle frames for an integrated, modern look.
Ayia Nappa, Cyprus – 7 August 2020 – The long-held vision of Cypriot Gerry Caramondani, in partnership with Naguib Sawiris, a prominent investor from Egypt, has become a reality with the opening of a 600 slip marina, drystack and the arrival of the first boats in February 2020. Ayia Nappa Marina is approximately 45-minutes east of Larnaca International Airport and 70 minutes from Limassol. The marina is located near the Mediterranean resort town Ayia Nappa, a world-famous holiday destination known for its beaches on the southeast coast of Cyprus.
The marina, built by Bellingham Marine, features full-service finger berthing that provides greater access and ease of mooring for boats up to 30m as well as full-service berthing options for boats up to 65m. “This iconic marina will become the standard that other marinas in the Mediterranean aspire to meet,” says John Spragg, Bellingham Marine’s President of Australasia and the Middle East, “Once boaters use the finger mooring system, they will demand it elsewhere.”