Caisson Seawalls

Quays

A quay is a dock or wharf for loading and unloading of ships, with a strong vertical wall at the water’s edge, called a quay wall, that separates land from a large water body like the ocean, a harbor, river, etc.

Quay walls are very strong, extending vertically underwater to provide clearance below the surface for ships to berth (mooring).

The land behind a quay wall is said to be retained from being washed away by the water. The word quay may be pronounced “key” (or “kay”).

Figure 1: Cargo ship docked at a quay at New Holland Dock, England. [DavidWright]

A quay must be strong enough to hold the weight of retained land and also hold the weight of cranes and cargo on the land.

Figure 2: The quay at New Holland Dock is strong enough to hold up cranes and cargo. [DavidWright]

Modern quays are larger and stronger, and have built-in cranes.

Figure 3: Modern quay with built-in crane, Bintulu, Malaysia. [RichardSinyem]

Other built-in cranes can move cargo to and from quays in a container port.

Figure 4: Container port, Bintulu, Malaysia. [RichardSinyem]

The same type of retaining wall that is used for quays can also retain land for buildings and parks.

Figure 5: Retaining seawalls, Kobe, Japan. [Zairon]

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Caisson Seawalls

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Introduction
Quays (this page)
Quay Construction
Singapore
Tema, Ghana
Le Portier, Monaco
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Hitachinaka, Japan
Slip Form
Seawater Construct
Breakwater

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