Surgidero de Batabanó Harbor, Cuba

The harbor of Surgidero de Batabano is a harbor that lies in the Gulf of Batabano in the South-Western part of Cuba. It serves as a connection between the main land of Cuba and the islands 'Isla de la Juventud' and Cayo Largo. The Batabano harbor suffers from sediment accretion. The accretion of sediment is harmful to port operations, since the depth of the quays and approach channel decreases gradually and ships are no longer able to enter the harbor. Since 1959 maintenance dredging is required every 4 years inside the manoeuvre area of the harbor, along the quay and inside the approach channel, in order to keep the harbor available for shipment. This is a costly operation. The Cuban harbor authority, APN (Autoridad Portuaria Nacional), want this problem to be solved. When considering the problems described above, the goal of this project is defined by the following: 'To reduce the frequency of dredging of accreted sediment in the harbor of Surgidero de Batabano, while keeping in mind costs, future plans, impact on the environment as well as local facilities'. Furthermore it is very important to calculate the amount of sediment accreting in the harbor and its origins. This information is useful when considering the solutions for the problems. During the analysis of the project, the project site has been investigated by literature and a site visit. The boundary conditions have been determined and the technical demand have been specified. The desires of the APN have been taken into account as well. Using all information obtained in the project analysis, the sediment transport processes inducing the accretion of sediment in the harbor have been analysed. Using theory, calculations and computer simulations, it was discovered that a combination of alongshore and cross-shore sediment transport governing the accretion in the harbor: - Alongshore transport of sediment along the coast, mainly from East to West, generated by normal wave conditions from an East/South-East direction. Sediment transported by this alongshore current, will be deposited in between the breakwaters; - Cross-shore transport of sediment perpendicular to the coast, where both sediment from deeper waters as well as accreted alongshore sediment in front of the harbor is transported by normal and extreme conditions. With the source of sediment known, several preliminary designs were created. Using a Multi Criteria Analyses, cost estimation and risk evaluation 4 preliminary designs were selected to be designed in further detail; extension of the existing Eastern breakwater, extension of the Western breakwater, a combination of these two and the current solution (remain dredging every 4 years). The main reasons for selecting these designs are: efficiency against accretion one the one hand and the wishes of the APN on the other hand. In order to obtain an optimal solution, the above mentioned designs were varied in layout. From these 9 layout options the 4 best options were selected as final designs to be further elaborated. These were a Western breakwater (attached and detached), an Eastern breakwater and a combination of a Western- and an Eastern breakwater. Using theory, calculations and computer simulations, the effectiveness against accretion in the harbor was estimated. Every design was evaluated using an Multi Criteria Analyses (MCA). The costs of each design has been determined. Using both costs and the MCA the best design was selected. The design to be recommended, is the combination of an extension of the existing Eastern breakwater and the expansion of the Western breakwater. Though this is not the cheapest option nor the most effective against accretion of sediment, the combination of these factors give the best overall results for a life span of 50 years. Another great advantage of this design, is the fact it can be built in two phases: first the Eastern and last the Western breakwater. In this was APN will be able to spread the costs of the construction of the design over a longer time.Hydraulic EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience