How can coastal cities strengthen marine infrastructure while adapting to rising seas?

Ports, shipyards and terminals operate within interconnected systems shaped by tides, shipping channels and complex industrial environments. In today’s changing climate, rising sea levels and more extreme weather add new layers of complexity. Without careful integration, adaptation measures can disrupt navigation, reduce terminal productivity or constrain future growth.  

For such facilities, the challenge is not only to respond to coastal risks, but also to ensure protection measures integrate with operations so trade can continue to move efficiently. 

Drawing on nearly four decades of maritime infrastructure experience, Alan partners with regulatory authorities and operators of ports, shipyards and liquid and dry bulk terminals to plan and design facilities that optimize operations. In response to an increasingly challenging climate, he supports clients to assess risk, define practical standards and implement coastal resilience solutions that integrate with operational performance.  

Alan approaches resilience as part of a broader operational system — aligning engineering, navigation requirements and commercial priorities from the outset. His work ensures that adaptation strategies enhance asset performance, protect long-term asset value and support continued growth in a changing climate.  

This requires a deep understanding of coastal processes that influence the planning and design of marine infrastructure and navigational safety. Understanding how climate change and sea level rise affect these systems is critical to maintaining long-term operational efficiency for an industry that underpins the economies of cities and nations. 

What motivates Alan is empowering clients to transition from short-term risk management to integrated, future-ready solutions. He believes coastal infrastructure must work with operational realities of facilities, not against them. By proposing a range of coastal protection measures, that allow clients to balance asset life, resilience and risk.  

A challenge he sees across the industry is balancing immediate operational demands with long-term climate resilience. Successful outcomes require early integration of engineering, operational and commercial priorities, supported by clear standards and strong stakeholder alignment.