Walcon rebuilds berthing at Royal Navy’s Jupiter Point

Twenty-three years after Walcon delivered the original Jupiter Point berthing installation to the Royal Navy, the company has been back at the naval training facility for high-speed RIB and jet-ski operations in Cornwall. Its brief, to replace the entire structure with new, updated equipment to allow it to continue its important role in training naval personnel in a range of seamanship skills.

The two-stage project involved first installing a new 43m bridge and an alongside docking area for RIBs and launches, the latter constructed using Walcon’s heavy-duty Jumbo pontoons, fitted with mesh decking. This was followed by the second stage, the replacement plus extension of the floating storage and launch slipways for the RIBs. This was achieved using twenty, 10-metre long, low-level sloping concrete pontoons to allow for easy launching and retrieval. Situated in an exposed location and subject to intensive, often inexperienced, use the facility has been built to withstand heavy punishment over the long term.