Seaports

Fincantieri Infrastructure contracted ADELTE to design, manufacture and install four HYDRA Seaport Passenger Boarding Bridges (SPBBs) at MSC’s Cruise Terminal in PortMiami

Barcelona, 27^th March 2023 – ADELTE, a Spanish engineering group based in Barcelona and the world leading specialist in the design and manufacture of Seaport Passenger Boarding Bridges (SPBBs) for Cruise and Ferry Terminals, is contracted by Miami-based Fincantieri Infrastructure to design and manufacture four (4) HYDRA type Boarding Bridges and to install these bridges at the new and iconic MSC Cruise Terminal (Cruise Terminal AA/AAA), currently in construction in PortMiami, USA.

Fincantieri Infrastructure is constructing North America’s largest and newest state-of-the-art cruise terminal facility according to a design by award-winning global architecture firm Arquitectonica. The four-story building with four embarkation decks and four SPBBs will be able to accommodate up to 36.000 passengers a day, and presents sufficient berthing space to serve three of MSC’s latest generation cruise ships simultaneously. ADELTE will commission all four SPBBs in 2024.

 “We are very proud to be part of this state-of-the-art project. Being able to partner with MSC, Fincantieri Infrastructure and Arquitectonica and to provide our unique boarding bridge design and technology for an iconic new cruise terminal in PortMiami is the result of our everlasting drive for excellence” says Jordi Floreta, VP and B.U. Director at ADELTE.

The HYDRA type Boarding Bridges are designed at ADELTE’s offices in Barcelona and manufactured at ADELTE’s facilities in Monzón (Spain). Each steel-structured SPBB is composed of multiple glass walled tunnel sections, a docking cabin, a building connection module and lifting and translation systems. The docking cabin will be ADELTE’s most technologically sophisticated, composed of three parts, which compensates all the movements of a cruise ship when it is docked. Electromechanical elevation systems in the columns allow the SPBB to reach a boarding height of 16 meters over sea level. The four SPBBs can move longitudinally along the quay, allowing the boarding from any door position of MSC’s Cruise Terminal building. With embarkation, cruise guests will be able to enjoy full views of the cruise ship and the cruise terminal. Last but not least, the bridges will be designed and constructed to ease regular maintenance tasks.

When in 2024 these four SPBBs are commissioned at the MSC Cruise Terminal, ADELTE will have a total of twelve (12) SPBBs in operation in PortMiami (Cruise Terminals AA/AAA, B, C, D and F) and a total of thirty-three (33) units in operation at Cruise and Ferry Terminals in North America.

The contract for three new and significantly larger boarding bridges is part of a modernization project to enlarge the quay of the Cruise Terminal with 20 meters into the river Weser.

Barcelona, 15^th December 2021 – ADELTE, a Spanish engineering group based in Barcelona and the world leading specialist in the design and manufacture of Seaport Passenger Boarding Bridges for Cruise and Ferry Terminals has been contracted by Bremenports GmbH & Co. KG to design and manufacture three PEGASUS Seaport Passenger Boarding Bridges (SPBBs) and to install these bridges at the Columbus Cruise Center in Bremerhaven.

The installation of the three new SPBBs complements the new Columbus Quay construction project that began last month. The quay, through which cruise shipping is handled in Bremerhaven, will be rebuilt over a length of 620 meters and enlarged by 20 meters into the Weser by autumn 2023. The PEGASUS-type SPBBs will therefore be longer than the current three bridges, which were installed almost two decades ago. With the new bridges, the Columbus Cruise Center can accommodate any large cruise ship, including those with overhanging lifeboats. ADELTE will install the first SPBB by the end of March 2023 and the other two before September 2023.

Robert Howe, Managing Director Bremenports welcomed the cooperation with ADELTE. “The new construction of the quay will not only improve cruise passenger access to the ships. The visually attractive and technically ultra-modern bridges will be a clear expression that Bremerhaven offers the best conditions for cruise ships”.

Perpendicular to the berthing line installed, these PEGASUS type boarding bridges with a length of 56 meters will be the largest ever created. The SPBBs will be composed of two glass sided tunnel sections, a cabin, and a building connection module. The cabin is the most technologically sophisticated part of the SPBB, and can compensate all the movements of a cruise ship when it is docked. Electromechanical elevation systems in the columns allow the SPBBs to reach a boarding height of 16 meters over sea level. The three SPBBs move longitudinally along the quay, allowing the boarding from any door position of the Cruise Terminal building. With embarkation, cruise guests will be able to enjoy full views of the cruise ship and the quay. Finally, the bridges will be designed and constructed to resist flooding and to ease maintenance tasks.

When the three SPBBs are installed in Bremerhaven, ADELTE will have a total of nine SPBBs installations at German ports (currently three in Kiel and three in Hamburg) During the current pandemic ADELTE has delivered a total of eighteen (18)  SPBBs to Cruise and Ferry Terminals around the world; three to Port Canaveral (USA), three to Port Miami (USA), one to Boston (USA) two to Brisbane (Australia), four to Dubai (UAE) two to Southampton (UK) one to Québec (Canada) one to Calais (France) and one to Kobe (Japan).

ADELTE, an engineering group based in Barcelona and the world-leading specialist in the design and manufacture of Seaport Passenger Boarding Bridges, is pleased to announce that the Spanish Association for Standardisation, UNE, has recently approved and published UNE 27800:2020, a new standard for Seaport Passenger Boarding Bridges (SPBBs) destined for cruise and ferry terminals.

This new Spanish standard specifies safety and security requirements, as well as performance and operating specifications for SPBBs, which are used to service all types of cruise ships and ferries. The standard is intended to improve fulfilment of the stipulations laid out in the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, setting specific and vital minimum criteria for safe, durable and practical boarding bridges.

For over a decade, various interest groups in the Spanish cruise and ferry industries have insisted on a need to regulate this type of equipment. Currently, there is no harmonized European standard under the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, the European regulation governing SPBBs. ADELTE therefore took the initiative in 2018 to promote the creation of a working group within the UNE’s Standardization Technical Committee CTN 27, with the elaboration of a reference standard as goal. This group has worked during two years under a consensus basis and the participation of all stakeholders: cruise terminal operators, cruise ship builders, cruise lines, certification bodies and engineering companies.

The standard specifies technical requirements to minimize hazards that may arise during the commissioning, operation and maintenance of SPBBs for cruise ships and ferries when used as intended -even foreseeing the most common errors in use-, according to manufacturers’ or authorized representatives’ instructions. It also stipulates other essential requirements as recommended by port authorities, cruise and ferry companies, as well as cruise and ferry operators, terminal operators and engineering companies.

UNE 27800:2020 applies to fixed and mobile bridges for boarding and disembarking passengers to cruise ships and ferries. It is applicable from the interface with the terminal building or pier, to the connection with the ship, including the fixed tunnels that are part of a SPBB.

For more information, please visit the Spanish Association for Standardisation’s website: www.une.org

Lisbon, 20^th September 2018 – ADELTE, the world leading designer and manufacturer Seaport Passenger Boarding Bridges (SPBBs) for Cruise and Ferry Terminals, received last night the “Supplier of the Year 2018” award during the Seatrade Cruise Awards gala evening, sponsored by Global Ports Holding, at the Patio da Galé in Lisbon.

“We are enormously proud to receive this award from the cruise industry. After winning this award for the first time in 2008, we are once again delighted to be recognized  for our commitment to deliver innovative and tailor-made Seaport Passenger Boarding Bridges and Global Services to enhance Cruise and Ferry terminal operations all around the world” says Jordi Floreta, Vice-President at ADELTE.

Recognizing “any firm or individual who has provided a exceptional quality service/or quality supplies to cruise lines/builders/ports etc over the past 12 months,” the Award was determined by a judging panel of industry executives, members of Seatrade Cruise global editorial team, cruise consultants, analysts and association experts from around the world.

Over the last 12 months, ADELTE has delivered at total of 19 SPBBs to Cruise and Ferry Terminals around the world. Cruise terminals in Barcelona, Cherbourg, Civitavecchia, Lisbon, Southampton, Port Miami, Port of Seattle, Keelung, Incheon, Taipei and a Ferry terminal in Brodick, received one or multiple boarding bridges from August 2017 up until the end of July 2018. ADELTE’s current project portfolio includes the delivery of SPBBs to the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney, the Ocean Terminal in Southampton, the Palacrociere Terminal in Savona and Cruise Terminal 3 in Port Canaveral.