Marine construction engineers
We solve marine construction problems with fabric-formed concrete.
Scour protection, berth deepening, foundations and marine sealing. Concrete, formed in place underwater, shaped to the structure and installed without heavy marine plant.
60+ years
Marine construction since 1965
7 continents
Projects from Europe to Antarctica
15+ papers
Published in PIANC, ASCE & ICE
719 grout bags
Foundations for the MOSE flood barrier, Venice
Applications
Find the right solution for your structure.
The applications we are most often engaged on. Select the one that matches your structure for detailed guidance, or view the full range below.
PROPELLER & THRUSTER WASH
Berth Scour Protection
Powerful modern vessels scour the seabed at the berth, undermining the quay. A thin, sealed concrete apron stops it at source.
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MORE DEPTH FROM EXISTING WALLS
Berth Deepening
Accommodate larger vessels by gaining depth from the structure you already have.
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FORMED IN SITU, UNDERWATER
Foundations
Grout-filled fabric forms create bearing foundations, hard points and pile connections.
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GAPS, JOINTS & PILE REPAIRS
Marine Repairs & Sealing
Grout bags and sock seals close gaps, seal between caissons and repair piles underwater.
ExploreHow we work
Different problems, one way of working.
Every application above is the same idea, formed differently: shape a fabric form to the job, fix it exactly where it’s needed, and fill it with concrete in place. A scour mattress, a foundation bag and a sealing sock are all that one technique.
01
Engineered to the structure
Every form is designed and fabricated to the geometry and loading of the structure it serves, from scour aprons and slope mattresses to foundation bags and sock seals.
02
Filled in place, underwater
The form is fixed where it is needed and pumped full of concrete or grout from the quay, deck or barge. No dewatering, no heavy marine plant, no batching at the bed.
03
Controlled from the surface
Filling is monitored from above, with vents confirming full contact before pumping stops, proven from harbour repairs to the foundations of the MOSE barrier.
In partnership with
20+ years · Incomat® formwork
Concrete mattress performance
7 ×
Thinner than the equivalent rock armour section
12.5 m/s
Propeller jet flow the protection is proven against
-17.3 m
Deepest berth protected · Ashdod, Israel
100 yr
Design life available, sealed against the seabed
Flagship projects
Proven in service, worldwide.
Featured
Flood barrier · caisson foundations
MOSE Barrier, Venice
- Italy
- 2012–14
Foundations for the mobile flood barrier protecting Venice. Grout bags filled entirely from the surface, with no divers, seated 20,000-tonne caissons to gate-alignment tolerance.
719 grout bags
Offshore viaduct · pier foundations
Nouvelle Route du Littoral
- La Réunion
- 48 piers
Foundation interfaces for every marine pier of the 5.4 km offshore viaduct: 3,500 m³ of grout placed from the surface in cyclone-exposed waters.
17,000 m²
Piled jetty · berth scour · 1.75 km
Al Faw Grand Port
- Iraq
- 2022–24
Our largest concrete-mattress install. At 200 mm, the protection used a fraction of the rock armour an equivalent specification would have demanded.
120,000 m²
How we work
From design to installation.
Most projects reach us through a consulting engineer or a contractor. We design, fabricate and supply the system; installation is by your team, with our engineers supervising on site.
FOR CONSULTING ENGINEERS
Specify with confidence
- Design to published methods: PIANC guidance and our papers in PIANC, ASCE and ICE
- Section sizing and specification support for your drawings
- A design guide you can take away and check against your own numbers
FOR CONTRACTORS
Price and build with certainty
- Indicative quantities and a budget from the information you already have
- Buildability review against your programme and plant
- Fabricated and supplied ready for installation by your divers, with our engineers supervising on site
Every project is assessed on its merits. When another solution serves your structure better, we will say so.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
What is fabric-formed concrete?
Fabric-formed concrete is concrete or grout pumped into a woven fabric form that has already been placed in its final position, underwater or against a structure. It sets where it is filled, rather than being made elsewhere and lowered in.
The fabric is grout-tight but lets water through. Under pumping pressure the free water bleeds out while the cement and sand stay in, lowering the water-cement ratio, so the cured concrete is stronger than the mix that entered the pump and sets without washout in open water. Proserve have used the method in marine construction since the 1960s, in three forms. Concrete mattress for scour protection, grout bags for foundations, and grout socks for sealing gaps.
What does Proserve do?
Proserve designs and supplies fabric formwork systems that protect marine structures from scour and erosion, and support them underwater: in situ concrete mattresses, foundation grout bags and bespoke structural seals.
The systems are used on quay walls, piled jetties, bridges, revetments and breakwaters worldwide. Proserve engineers each solution, fabricates it, and supports the contractor who installs it.
Who installs Proserve’s systems?
Proserve’s systems are installed by the contractor’s own divers, trained and supported on site by Proserve’s engineers. Proserve designs, engineers and fabricates the system; the marine team installs it.
Clients get a specialist-engineered solution installed by their own team, with Proserve alongside from planning to completion.
Who does Proserve work with?
Proserve works with consulting engineers, marine contractors, dive teams, and ports worldwide.
Engineers come to Proserve for design support and specification input. Contractors come for the fabricated system, installation planning and on-site support.
Why choose Proserve for marine scour protection?
Proserve has engineered fabric formwork for marine construction since the 1960s, led by chartered civil and structural engineers, with its research on berth scour presented to PIANC world congresses.
The systems are designed for constructability as much as performance, installed by local dive teams from the quayside, without marine plant, with Proserve training and support on site.
Talk to a marine engineer
Discuss your project with our engineers.
Send us what you have: bathymetry, vessel type, structure, design life. Your enquiry goes to our engineers, whether you are specifying the protection or pricing its construction.
or call +44 (0)1926 512 222 · [email protected]