01/2008 –

As part of its continual effort to provide sailors with excellent service, the Nice Côte d’Azur Chamber of Commerce and Industry has started to organise the replacement 260m of pontoons for boats of 3m to 24m.

“This concerns four concrete pontoons, each 65m long, constructed in the 60s and now worn out,” explain Michel Lallement, Operations Manager at the Port of Golfe-Juan, and his deputy François Barberis. “It is part of the modernisation policy that we have been following for years: video surveillance, wi-fi access points, waste disposal points etc.”

A 130 tonne crane from Marseilles

To carry out these works, a floating barge, 600 m2 and weighing more than 500 tonnes, was towed from Marseilles by two tugs during the weekend.

Objective: “To retrieve from an underwater depth of 3-4m thousands of tonnes of concrete plinth blocks and support beams installed in 1965 and now buried under more than 2m of mud, before starting the installation of the new pontoons.”

A technical achievement completed in a few days by Mare-Nostrum (demolition) Spie-Trindel (tug services), Aqua-Caren (moorings) and Port-Alu (pontoons): “Top quality French companies”, points out Michel Lallement.

170 renovated and networked berths

This project has been designed and supervised by the CCI, making savings of 50% “allowing all the more to be spent on future improvements”.

To be installed during the winters of 2007 and 2008, these new floating pontoons will offer sailors 170 ultra-modern berths with water-electricity-internet connections.
– PR –