The construction of the new breakwater at the Port of Vado Ligure is intended to protect the harbour basin and improve maritime accessibility. The first phase provides for the development of about 450 metres of the breakwater through the re-use of the caissons removed from the old infrastructure, with the addition of two more scratch-built caissons. The work is carried out at diverse depths from 35 to 49 metres and increase the entrance width by approximately 150 metres, improving safety and facilitating berthing manoeuvres to the Multipurpose Platform and the nearby ferry/RoRo terminals.
For this section, the dimensioning was established to provide a technical life of 50 years and a return time of the meteorological – hydrological conditions of 250 years.
The type of construction of the new breakwater is similar to that of the existing breakwater and consists of reinforced concrete cellular caissons set on a foundation bench. More specifically, in the section of the breakwater in question, 12 cellular caissons are to be installed, 10 of which are recycled in situ and 2 scratch-built.
With regard to the caissons that are reused, a distinction must be made between 9 caissons with a shaft size of 19×30.06 m that are embanked at -19.50m and 1 caisson with a shaft size of 19×30.06m that is embanked at -15.50m. The D-type caissons is partly (15%) filled with granular material and partly (85%) filled with concrete, in order to satisfy the sliding and overturning stability. The E-type caisson, given its hammer-shaped position, only needed to be filled with granular material.
The size of the two scratch-built caissons is of 22×32m and they are embanked at a deeper depth of -25.50m, to avoid the interference of the foundation bench with the “Sacred Corem” shipwreck. These two caissons are filled with granular material. The superstructure of the caissons consists of a reinforced concrete slab with an extrados at an elevation of +2.50m above sea level.

Video 1 of the 25.11.2021:

Video 2 of the 29.04.2022: