View All Solutions

Ports & Maritime Infrastructure Resilience

Enabling critical waterfront infrastructure to adapt, perform and endure in the face of growing challenges

iStock-2123124452

Ports and maritime infrastructure is central to global trade, energy security and coastal economies — yet it faces growing pressure from climate change, extreme weather, aging assets, cyber threats and supply chain disruption.

Jacobs works with port authorities, operators, public agencies and waterfront communities to plan, design and deliver adaptation measures that reduce risk, strengthen performance and keep critical maritime infrastructure safe and resilient as conditions change.

Building resilience into ports and maritime infrastructure

From assessment and planning to design and delivery, helping ports adapt to climate, operational and infrastructure risks.

Explore all solutions
PM-Assessments

Resilience Assessments

Performing climate change impact assessments, asset inventory and management, hazard and vulnerability assessments, and coastal flood and tsunami modeling, supporting priority setting and the rollout of mitigation and adaptation measures.

PM-Planning

Resilience Planning and Adaptation

Developing climate resilient design standards, coastal management plans, energy and grid resilience strategies, and cybersecurity risk frameworks to improve waterfront resilience.

PM-Design

Resilient Design

Creating integrated climate resilient infrastructure designs that address aging port infrastructure, flood risk management, stormwater management, coastal erosion and more.

PM-inclusive

Inclusive Places and Systems

Delivering technical solutions that take a holistic view of things that matter to communities — like social equity, quality of life, health and wellbeing, and environmental and social governance.

PM-Finance

Program Finance and Delivery

Supporting scoping, applications and administration for grants, as well as advisory services and economic analysis for project implementation.

Ports and maritime resilience, explained

Understanding the challenges, strategies and approaches required to strengthen and future-proof maritime infrastructure.

Get in touch

Resilience is the ability to survive, recover, adapt and thrive from chronic stresses and acute shocks. Becoming resilient means minimizing the impacts of climate change, extreme weather, aging infrastructure, supply chain and cybersecurity threats, so communities and the infrastructure that support them are safe and secure.

Ports and maritime infrastructure resilience refers to its ability to withstand disruptions, recover quickly and adapt over time. This includes managing challenges from natural disasters, aging assets, digital vulnerability and supply chain shocks while maintaining safe, reliable operations.

Ports face a range of challenges including climate hazards, cyber and energy reliability challenges, increasingly larger vessels or  loads and supply chain disruption. Aging assets and increasing regulatory and financial pressures can compound these challenges, making proactive resilience planning essential to avoid costly failures and operational interruptions.

Responsibility is shared among port authorities, terminal operators and tenants, public agencies, infrastructure owners and community stakeholders. Effective resilience requires coordination across planning, funding, operations and regulation to ensure challenges are addressed holistically rather than in isolation.

Ports should invest in resilience planning as early as possible — especially when upgrading assets, expanding facilities or responding to new climate and regulatory pressures. Early planning provides a longer-term roadmap, indicating when actions are likely to be needed. It supports time investments cost-effectively and ensures resilience is built into decisions, rather than added after disruptions occur.

Ports and maritime resilience services

Integrated services helping ports manage risk, adapt to change and maintain safe, reliable operations.

All Services

  • Resilience Planning, Adaptation & Assessments for Ports & Waterfront Facilities

    Assessing risks and developing strategies to support ports and waterfront assets to adapt to evolving climate and operational pressures.

  • Resilience Planning, Adaptation & Assessments for Coastal Communities

    Identifying vulnerabilities and delivering practical adaptation strategies that protect coastal communities from climate and environmental risks.

  • Resilient Design for Urban Waterfronts

    Designing waterfront environments that integrate flood protection, sustainability and public use while enhancing long-term resilience to climate impacts.

  • Shoreline Protection for Waterfront Communities

    Planning and implementing coastal protection measures that reduce erosion and flood risk while preserving natural systems and supporting community resilience.

Featured projects

All Projects

Meet the team

ALL PEOPLE
  • Professional head‑and‑shoulders portrait of a person wearing a dark suit jacket over a light collared shirt, photographed against a softly blurred indoor background.
    Maki Onodera
    Maritime Resilience Global Principal
  • Adam Hosking
    Adam Hosking
    Global Solutions Director, Resilience and Climate Response

Related industries

All Industries

Ports & Maritime

Transportation

  • Coastal resilience: Integrated solutions for a changing future

    Embedding integrated approaches in coastal planning is key to protecting communities, infrastructure and ecosystems.

    Coastal systems are among our most valuable assets. By combining engineering, nature-based solutions and digital innovation, we help coastal places withstand, adapt and thrive over time.

    Learn more
    Onewater