Steel Caissons News

As part of the salvage plan to remove the wreck of the Costa Concordia, to be carried out by the Italo-American Titan-Micoperi consortium appointed by Costa Crociere, Fincantieri has been awarded a contract worth tens of millions of euros for the building of the watertight boxes, known as caissons, to be used in the operation to refloat the ship. A total of 30 steel caissons, with combined weight of approximately 11,500 tonnes, will be built in different Fincantieri shipyards. The Costa Concordia salvage plan entails the use of these caissons in order to right and refloat the wreck so that it can be removed in one piece. A system of hydraulic 'strand-jacks' fixed to an underwater platform will be used in conjunction with the caissons to right the vessel.

Waller Marine, Inc recently delivered two large steel caissons to clients in Venezuela to be used for closure of a basin that is under construction at the Tacoa floating power generation facility. The caissons, each having dimensions of 115-ft in length, 16-ft in width and standing 26 ft high will be installed at the entrance of the basin that will house the two 170 MW power barges constructed by Waller and now undergoing pre-commissioning activities at the site. The caissons will protect the power barges from wave and tidal action from the sea.