Smitwijs London, an ocean going tug, is towing a 350-metre floating pier from Algesiras in southern Spain to Monaco. 
    The floating pier, with a depth of 14 metres, will be towed utilising a towing line measuring 1,000 metres in length. Due to the depth of the harbour, which is in excess of 50 metres deep, the pier will be secured with two sets of fixed anchor chains to the sea bottom. This operation will be undertaken by SMIT divers. The pier will be secured to the quayside by means of a movable articulation which weighs about 700 tonnes. 
    The journey, which started on August 14 this year, is likely to take 12-14 days with an expected speed of 3 nautical knots per hour. 

    The floating pier is the longest such pier in the world and will be utilised in the Monaco harbour as a jetty for large cruise ships. It has the additional functionality of accommodating four levels of parking space (400 cars) within the structure. The pier will offer additional berths for speedboats. 
    The towage assignment and the installation of the floating pier is being undertaken by SMIT Transport and Heavy Lift from SMIT's Rotterdam headquarters, The Netherlands.