LOCAL

Palm Beach seeks answers on what caused a section of dock to detach during Hurricane Ian

A 30-foot piece of the floating Peruvian dock detached late Wednesday, leaving the town's marina with two less slips.

Jodie Wagner
Palm Beach Daily News
A piece of the Peruvian dock at the Town of Palm Beach Marina was found broken off the night after hurricane Ian passed through the state of Florida September 29, 2022.

The town is looking for an explanation after a 30-foot section of dock at the town's new marina detached during Hurricane Ian last week, leaving the facility temporarily without two slips.

Seven hours after the powerful Category 4 storm made landfall on Florida's southwest coast at about 3 p.m. Wednesday, a piece of the 28-slip Peruvian dock broke off, Dock Master Mike Horn said.

At the time, tropical storm-force winds were lashing Palm Beach County, but Horn could not say what caused the section of dock to detach.

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All four of the town's docks are floating docks, and they are not removed in advance of a storm, Horn said.

"It's to be determined," Horn said of what could have caused the dock to detach. "The design engineer has looked at it, and the dock manufacturer will be onsite (this) week."

The Peruvian dock is one of four at the Town of Palm Beach Marina. The other three docks — Palm Way, Australian and Brazilian — were unaffected by the storm.

The remainder of the Peruvian dock remains functional, and the partial dock detachment will not impact the marina, at least for now, Horn said.

"Hopefully the dock manufacturer will be able to address the issue soon," Horn said. "If not, we will be minus two slips for a couple of months."

The dock manufacturer, Bellingham Marine, will take care of the broken section of dock and remove it from the marina, Horn said.

The town will replace the detached portion of dock as quickly as possible, he added.

Assistant Town Manager Carolyn Stone said the town does not yet have a cost estimate for replacing the broken piece of dock.

Horn said he was surprised that tropical storm-force winds could damage the dock, as the marina was built to withstand a Category 1 hurricane.

The marina was constructed to the best recommended industry standards, he added.

Horn said that the design engineer and team will evaluate the dock and look for material defects.  

The $38 million town marina opened November after a 17-month renovation.

Work included the expansion of 84 slips to allow larger boats, the replacement of stationary docks with floating docks, a new security system, and upgraded technology that includes high-speed Wi-Fi and enhanced shore electrical power.

The project also included the addition of a fourth dock at the north end of the marina, which was built in the 1940s and most recently renovated in 1998. 

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The marina welcomes vessels from 60 feet to 294 feet.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.comHelp support our journalism. Subscribe today.