FEASIBILITY STUDIES

Naval architects, maritime engineers, and transportation agencies must balance budgets, schedules, and project requirements. SCI’s Center for Maritime Education (CME) adds another critical consideration: how a project will perform from the mariner’s perspective.

Through high-fidelity feasibility studies, conducted on CME’s state-of-the-art simulators, experienced mariners test proposed designs and operating scenarios before construction begins, providing project teams with operational data and practical insight to identify potential challenges early.

Save time. Control costs. Prioritize safety. Know before you build.

Formidable Advantages…

  • CME leverages state-of-the-art computer simulation technology to enhance maritime planning and ensure a safer environment for mariners. Our feasibility studies support government, commercial, and private agencies, focusing on navigation-impacting projects such as waterfront developments and bridge spans. text goes here

  • Feasibility studies streamline construction processes and meet the stringent navigation and safety standards of industry representatives and the US Coast Guard. Our studies also provide reassurance to investors, confirming that their capital will meet design assumptions and optimize operational efficiency.

    Feasibility studies, based on our hyper-accurate simulations guided by experienced mariners, provide engineers and architects with the information they need before they invest resources into a project. Knowing before it is built represents substantial savings and enhanced safety they offer.

  • The Center for Maritime Education prioritizes mariner safety by striving to create safer vessels and transit conditions on our waterways. Our use of simulated geo-specific visual databases and ship models allows us to assist engineers, architects, and other stakeholders through real-time simulation. Our expertise includes:

    • New port designs: Optimize the layout and functionality of new port facilities.

    • Pier and channel modifications: Assess the impact of changes to existing infrastructure.

    • Suitability of designs: Evaluate if a design meets the needs of specific vessels or vessel types.

    • Maritime vessel hydrodynamic prototyping: Test and refine vessel designs for improved performance.

  • At CME's facilities in Houston, TX, and Paducah, KY, ship and river pilots can execute various maneuvers within proposed site alternatives using advanced maritime simulators. These simulations allow pilots to test navigability under different conditions, including varying currents, light levels, vessel loads, and river directions.

    After each simulation, captains and pilots participate in debriefing sessions to evaluate the scenario's difficulty and discuss safety margins for potential environmental changes or constructions.

    SCI provides a comprehensive final report at the conclusion of the studies, detailing data, findings, and mariner suggestions. These insights contribute to making waterways safer and more cost-effective for seafarers and the public.

View a Comprehensive Sample Report

CME has participated in the following feasibility studies:

  • Occidental Terminal – Corpus Christi, TX – Port Study

  • Bluewater SPM – Gulf of Mexico – Terminal Study

  • Axis Terminal, Corpus Christi, TX – Port Study

  • MODA Terminal – Corpus Christi, TX – Port Study

  • South Texas Gateway Terminal – Corpus, Christi, TX – Terminal Study

  • Harbor Island Crude Terminal – Corpus Christi, TX – Port Study

  • US 51 Cairo Bridge Replacement – Cairo, IL – Bridge Study

  • I-49 Arkansas Bridge – Fort Smith, AR – Bridge Study

  • Port of Corpus Christi Tug Study – Corpus Christi, TX – Navigation Study

  • Environmental Impact Statement – Corpus Christi, TX – Waterway Study

  • Pelican Island Causeway Bridge Replacement – Bridge Study

  • Bolivar, Texas Fleeting Study - Waterway Study

  • CEMUS dock study – Baton Rouge, LA - Waterway Study

  • New Fortress LNG Terminal – San Juan, PR – Port Study

  • I-74 Bridge – Quad Cities, Iowa – Bridge Study

  • Abraham Lincoln Bridge – Louisville, KY – Bridge Study

  • East End Bridge – Louisville, KY – Bridge Study

  • I-70 Bridge – St Louis, MO – Bridge Study

  • Route 190 Bridge - Baton Rouge, LA – Bridge Study

  • Bolivar Roads Inbound Alternate Route, Houston Ship Channel – Navigation Assessment

  • Wellsburg Bridge – Wellsburg, West Virginia – Bridge Study

  • BOSTCO Terminal – Houston, TX – Port Study

  • Texas Port Recycling – Houston, TX – Port Study

  • Smithland Bridge - Smithland, KY – Bridge Study

  • Blackhawk Bridge – Lansing, IA - Bridge Study

  • I-69 Crossing – Evansville, IA – Bridge Study

  • Suezmax Feasibility Study – Corpus Christi, TX inner harbor

  • VLCC Corpus Christi - Corpus Christi, TX – Navigation Assessment

Interested in discussing one or more of these projects?

Contact us at cme@seamenschurch.org • 713.674.1236

If it’s not in our database, we will get it and build it to customer specifications.

In this video, we feature a few sped-up sets of runs in a study for Buckeye Bahamas, in partnership with Kotug Seabulk, where ship pilots and tug masters performed procedures and drills in our Freeport, Bahamas, database—testing the operational environment before it’s built.