With the cruise industry returning to life this summer, the June 2021 completion of the expansion and upgrades to the terminals at Port Canaveral, Florida is perfect timing. PENETRON ADMIX was specified to protect all new and renovated concrete structures from the marine environment.
Port Canaveral on Florida’s east coast is the world's second-busiest cruise port, behind Port Miami, where cruise passengers account for 78% of the port’s income. The Port is home to four major cruise lines, including Carnival (with three ships based there), Disney (two ships), Norwegian (one ship), and Royal Caribbean (two ships).
When the COVID pandemic hit the global cruise industry in 2020, cruise companies saw business evaporate virtually overnight. With a sudden halt to all cruise activities, Canaveral Port Authority doubled down and kept both new construction and infrastructure upgrade projects on schedule throughout the shutdown. Despite the need for creative scheduling during the pandemic due to various challenges, all work will be completed in time for the start of the summer cruise season this month.
Today, both the construction of the new Cruise Terminal (CT3), completed at the end of 2020, and the expansion of the Cruise Terminals 8 (CT8) and 10 (CT10), opened in June 2021, will give a boost to two of the Port’s key clients – Carnival Cruises and Disney – as the ships prepare for the return of passengers.
New Home for Carnival Cruise Behemoths
A $163 million project, the new CT3 facility is used by Carnival Cruise Line as the home berth for both the Carnival Liberty and Carnival Mardi Gras ships. The Carnival Mardi Gras is the largest ship in the Carnival fleet and the first North American-based cruise ship to be powered by natural gas. The 188,000 square-foot terminal has the capacity to handle 6,600 disembarking and embarking passengers.
Construction work for the CT3 project comprised a new two-floor passenger terminal, an adjacent parking garage for 1,800 cars (both completed by Ivey’s Construction), and a $38.60 million, 1,309 foot-long waterside berth (built by Rush Marine).
Disney Ships Closer to Home
Only an hour east of the Walt Disney World theme park complex in Orlando, the $5.3 million waterside modifications of Port Canaveral’s CT8 and CT10 terminals provides an attractive home port for the Disney fleet. Disney's two largest ships — the Fantasy and the Dream – are already based here.
The CT8 project expanded the terminal’s arrival hall and VIP area and added a new “jetway-style" passenger boarding bridge. Further work on the wharf area included installation of precast concrete decks, installation of landside and waterside mooring dolphins, installation of bollards at the wharf, and various other dock improvements – completed by Rush Marine.
The CT10 project, carried out by Rush Marine, included construction of a new entrance bridge, expanded seating in the terminal, in addition to filling in various gaps in the pier deck, installation of precast concrete deck infills, installation of mooring dolphins to accommodate the new, larger Triton class vessels, bollards and a catwalk, and strengthening the pier deck for the new passenger boarding bridge. Ivey Construction added a new parking garage to accommodate 1,800 cars.
Looking for Robust Concrete Protection
The structural engineers at the Jacobs Engineering Group needed a robust concrete waterproofing solution for protection from the marine environment, chloride ion penetration, and resulting corrosion – for all waterside construction of both the new Port Canaveral Terminal 3 construction project and the expansion and renovation work at the Port Canaveral Terminals 8 (CT8) and 10 (CT 10).
Christopher Chen points out the strength of a field proven portfolio of similar marine projects: “Penetron was able to show how effective our crystalline technology has been when used in marinas, shipyards, and seaports from around the world, many of them located in very harsh marine environments.”
PENETRON ADMIX SB was specified for all concrete used for the ship berths and all structures exposed to saltwater – to provide protection against chloride ion penetration and the resulting corrosion – as well as all below-grade concrete structures.
Cemex, the concrete ready-mix supplier, delivered approximately 5,000 yds3 of concrete treated with PENETRON ADMIX SB for the concrete foundations, pile caps and various concrete mooring structures of the new terminal expansions, including the new concrete elements and dock repair work.
Solved with Penetron: Port Canaveral project engineers specified a robust concrete waterproofing solution to protect against the marine environment, chloride ion penetration, and resulting corrosion.
Mickey’s new home: Only an hour east of Walt Disney World in Orlando, the waterside modifications to Port Canaveral’s CT8 and CT10 terminals resulted in an attractive home port for the Disney fleet.
Waterproofed by Penetron: A $163 million project, the new Port Canaveral (CT3) terminal is used by Carnival Cruise Line as the home berth for both the Carnival Liberty and Carnival Mardi Gras ships.
