ADCP in Ocean Current Measurement of Durres Port

1. Where is Durres Port?

Durres Port is in Durres City, Albania. Durres Port is the biggest and main port in Albania, which is located on the Adriatic Sea.

Port Scale and Throughput

• Scale: It is a port of considerable scale with well-developed infrastructure. The several berths included those allowing reception of vessels in classes of medium to large-sized ships, container vessels, bulk carriers, and general cargo ships. The port area includes an extensive quay facility and storage areas.
• Throughput: Durres Port is one of the biggest in Albania, enjoying considerable annual throughput. It holds a central place in the economy of Albania. The cargo that Durres Port can handle ranges from containers carrying consumer products, construction materials, and agricultural products to bulk cargo like grains, ores, and coal.

Routes and Business

• Routes: This is a shipping route network. The port has connections with other ports in the Adriatic Sea region and also with the Mediterranean and beyond. These are very vital in terms of Albania's international trade and importation and exportation with other countries and regions within Europe.
• Business: Durres Port is, in general, engaged in a wide range of business activities involving cargo of different types, as well as loading and unloading and storage capacity. It also provides a range of transport services. Other value-added services include customs clearance and logistics support guaranteed by the port.

Management and Operation of the Port

Durres Port is managed by an efficient system that controls the entry and exit of ships, carried out by the port authority, which also allocates berths and carries out cargo-handling operations. They apply modern technologies in optimizing operations: digital tracking systems for ships and cargo. Apart from security, safety is also an essential feature of the facility management. Many strict safety regulations protect the ships, cargo, and personnel at the facility. The protection of the environment against the impact of activities on the ecosystem of the Adriatic Sea is equally considered by the port.

Facilities in the Port

• Container Terminals: The container terminals are equipped with quay cranes and gantry cranes for efficient handling of containers. In addition to that, the storage yards have managed systems at the location for stacking and retrieving containers. Bulk Cargo Terminals: As far as bulk cargo handling is concerned, it has conveyor belts, stockpiling areas, and corresponding loading machinery. These facilities take care of various types of bulk cargo efficiently with minimum loss of cargo.
• General Cargo Terminals: The general cargo terminals are present, which have equipment for loading and unloading all kinds of cargo that do not come under containerized or bulk cargo categories.

Channel and Direct Shipping

• The channels of the port are kept clear for the easy passage of ships. It offers direct shipping lines to numerous ports in the Adriatic and Mediterranean. These direct links increase competitiveness and its contribution to regional trade.

2. Why would we measure the ocean currents in Durres Port?

Effect on the Navigation of Ships

Ocean currents should be measured at Durres Port to help ships in their navigation. Currents make the speeds and courses of the ships entering and leaving the port vary. In a busy port environment, accurate current information allows the captains of ships to make more precise adjustments in speed and course. This helps prevent collisions and facilitates quicker docking and undocking procedures.

Impact on Cargo Operations

Ocean currents may influence effectiveness in load processing activities. For instance, where the current is unstable or strong, it may be challenging to ensure that cranes and other equipment used in handling goods achieve accuracy in operation. By measurement, a port is able to optimize scheduling of cargo-handling activities with respect to current states so it can minimize the waiting times for ships and improve effectiveness in general work activities .

Role in Environmental Monitoring

Being able to measure ocean currents is very important for environmental monitoring of the port area. For example, if there should be an oil spill or other release of contaminants into the sea, then the current data can be used to predict the direction and speed at which the contaminants could spread. Thus, this would then enable the port to take timely preventive and remedial measures for protection of the marine environment. It is more advanced and convenient when measuring ocean currents compared to traditional methods. It would therefore benefit Durres Port operations.

3. How do ADCPs using the principle of Doppler work?

Measurement Principle

To begin with, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler(ADCP) is based on the principle of Doppler. When an ADCP current meter sends out an acoustic signal into the water, it gets scattered due to particles and other water substances. Due to the Doppler effect, the scattered signal received back by the ADCP current profiler would have a frequency different than the transmitted one, since the water particles are travelling with the current of the ocean. The measurement of this frequency shift makes it possible to calculate the velocity of the water particles, and therefore the velocity of the ocean current.

ADCP in Port Ocean Current Measurement: Shipborne ADCP

They are installed on ships; when this ship moves in the Durres Port area, it continuously sends and receives acoustic signals. It can measure the ocean currents at different depths along the path where the ship has moved. The data collected can be used to analyze the current condition of that area where the ship is sailing and can give very important information for ship navigation and operations.

Fixed ADCP

Fixed ADCPs would be installed in fixed locations, such as on piers or buoys in Durres Port. During operation, the ADCP flow meter do not move; they record currents around them constantly. Long-term current data with stability can be given by them, which could be useful in understanding the general pattern of current and the changes in the port area with time.

4. What needs to be done to allow the measurement of Durres Port currents qualitatively?

Equipment Requirements

• Material Reliability: Equipment materials should be of high reliability; that is, they need to bear the harsh marine environment since the seawater can cause corrosion, there is high humidity, and they can even be hit by floating objects.
• Small in size, lightweight, and low power consumption: A small-sized and lightweight ADCP is good for installation and operation, especially for shipborne ADCPs. The low power consumption allows the equipment to operate for a long time without the frequent replacement of batteries or high-power supply requirements, which is important for both fixed and shipborne ADCPs.
• Low Cost for Mass Measurement: For large-scale current measurement in the port, it is necessary that the equipment cost should be comparatively low. This will facilitate multiple ADCP meter to be installed at various sites in the port to collect more general data about the currents.

Benefit by the Use of a Titanium Alloy for ADCP Casing

Titanium alloy is an excellent material for casing ADCP profiler. A number of advantages are associated with it. Firstly, it has excellent corrosion resistance, and it can effectively resist the corrosive effect of seawater, which ensures long-term stability and reliability for the equipment. Then, it has a high strength-to-weight ratio, which means it is able to provide sufficient strength while keeping the weight relatively low, thus meeting the requirements of small size and light weight. Thirdly, the good thermal stability of the titanium alloy is beneficial to guarantee the normal work of apparatus under different temperature conditions in the Durres Port area.

5. How to Choose the right equipment for current measurement?

According to the Use Purpose

• Shipborne ADCP: If the requirement is mainly on ships, then shipborne ADCP would be a good alternative. It will be able to move with the ship and take measurements from different areas in the port while the ship navigates forward. Sitting-Bottom ADCP: This would be rather sufficient for fixed-point current monitoring at a particular site over long periods of time in the Durres Port. It is generally used on the seabed and can continuously monitor the currents in its vicinity.
• Buoy - Type ADCP: It will be applicable for the application where one wants to perform real-time monitoring of the current in some area of a port. The buoy can float on the water surface and the ADCP mounted on it can measure currents present in its surroundings.

Selection Based on Different Frequencies

• Different frequencies of ADCPs serve best in different water depths. For instance, 600 kHz ADCP is suitable for water depths within 70 m, and thus it may give more detailed current data in relatively shallow water areas. The 300 kHz ADCP is suitable for water depths up to 110 m, while 75 kHz ADCP is suitable for water as deep as 1000 m. This allows for the actual water depth conditions in Durres Port to measure the current at different depths accurately.

There are several well - known ADCP brands such as Teledyne RDI, Nortek, and Sontek. However, for those looking for cost - effective options, the Chinese brand China Sonar PandaADCP is highly recommended. It is made of all - titanium alloy material and has an incredible cost - performance ratio. You can visit its website https://china-sonar.com/ for more information.

Here is a table with some well known ADCP instrument brands and models.