Floating Barriers for Erosion Protection of Channel Banks of the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal evaluated the use of floating breakwaters to determine if these systems were feasible as wave energy reduction measures and therefore as barriers to reduce the erosion produced by ship generated waves on the channel banks.

The mechanism of wave generation by ships was analyzed and the way this phenomenon can be attenuated by a floating breakwater was evaluated. The secondary waves and the stern waves of small vessels are the ones that can be attenuated significantly by floating breakwaters.

Field measurements with an Acoustic Doppler Profiler and high resolution video were undertaken to know the maximum wave heights at the banks produced by different types of ships. Extreme stern wave heights produced by big vessels could not be measured and were estimated. The maximum wave heights measured at the banks were 80 cm and were generated by a tugboat. The greater wave stern wave height generated by a Neo-Panamax vessel was calculated to be 1.18 m.

It was found that floating breakwaters can attenuate these waves to reduce the erosion of the banks significantly or to reduce the dimension of the bank protection needed. Floating barriers fabricated from individual modules link together with flexible cables show favorable characteristics such as transportability, scalability and flotation control. In this study the characteristics of one system of floating barrier with registered trademark was evaluated.

The use of floating breakwaters for erosion protection of the Panama Canal banks is considered feasible. However, site performance test for different systems should be carried out to determine the efficiency of specific systems of floating barriers in zones with critical erosion problems.