POLA Pier 500 Planning, Hydrodynamic and Berthing Studies

The Port of Los Angeles (POLA) proposes to expand the existing Pier 400 landfill by adding approximately 200 acres of landfill extending south on the east side of the existing facility. The new landfill will be known as Pier 500 Container Terminal. In order to optimize the size, orientation, and - ultimately - the configuration of the terminal, various key issues must be addressed. Those issues include throughput capacity of the terminal, potential for harbor resonance, terminal downtime due to ship motions caused by seas and swell, and ship maneuvering in restricted navigation areas. This paper discusses the technical approaches employed and main conclusions reached in these investigations at the time of presentation of this paper. Investigations for real-time ship simulation are ongoing.