NAVIGATION & MARINE HYDRODYNAMIC STUDIES
Navigation aids for the Malamocco - Marghera Seaway  - Venice Lagoon, Italy 

Client:                           Venezia  Nuova  Consortium -  Ministry  of Public Works

Services:                Preliminary and Final Design of navigational aids for the seaway connecting the lagoon inlet of

                             Malamocco with the industrial port of Marghera.

Period:                        1991 - 1996

Construction cost:  € 10,180,000

The project:

The main navigation route connecting the industrial port of Marghera (located on the inner limit of the Venice lagoon) with the open sea is travelled by over 8000 cargo ships/year. This seaway is 10 nautical miles long and quite narrow (60m at the bottom of the channel) in relation to the beam of the vessels using it.

To allow safe navigation and the possibility of the harbour operating even at night or in unfavourable weather conditions (visibility of 300 m), the Malamocco‑Marghera seaway has been equipped with a series of special featured lights along the entire way, in addition to the existing conventional flashing red/green marine lights.

On either side of the shipping channel a series of 14-25 meter long poles (projecting 8 m above water level) has been installed at 80 m intervals, for a total of some 360 illumination points.

A purpose‑built sealed light fixture, containing two 36 W low pressure sodium lamps, is mounted vertically inside the open-faced light support at the head of each stainless steel pole. The light fixture is designed for easy maintenance directly from boats by means of a system of internal cables which make it possible to accede to the lamp at the base of the pole.

The entire system is energised at 660 V ac by two submersible and armoured cable mains, laid by a special machine in a trench 3 meters deep on either side of the channel, which feed 16 secondary switchboards.

The system can be remotely operated by radio from the Pilot Control Tower or the main office of the Port Authority but normally is automatical­ly controlled and activated for specific zones according to the visibility level signalled by four fog detectors and photoelec­tri­c switches located along the channel.

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