The Malamocco Lock is located in the Venetian Lagoon, and has been constructed in the frame of the MOSE project, which intends to protect the city of Venice from flooding by means of a surge barrier. In case the mobile gates installed at the inlets connecting the Venetian Lagoon with the Adriatic Sea will be closed, the port of Venice will remain accessible for large sea-going vessels through the Malamocco Lock.Serious concerns exist with respect to the accessibility of the lock for sea-going vessels. Especially wind effects appear to have a negative effect on access manoeuvres to the lock. The aim of the present project is to formulate recommendations with respect to limiting conditions and accepted procedures for safe access and exit manoeuvres for arriving and departing ships of different types, dimensions and loading conditions, and to provide input data for determining and optimising timing of access and departure manoeuvres.
The project is subdivided in two phases. Phase I contains consists of a desk and field study, resulting in a preliminary advise with respect to the possible procedure(s) and the development of a detailed project plan for studies for a ship manoeuvring simulator study. Phase II focuses on the execution of a ship manoeuvring simulator study resulting in final recommendations for accepted procedures for safe entry and exit manoeuvres and ship-related input data required for assessing and optimising locking cycles.
The present report is the result of Phase I, and comprises a review of the information available on the situation in Malamocco, a comparative study with lock configurations worldwide, and a discussion with respect to possible measures to improve the accessibility.
