Because of its ideal location close to the main shipping lanes in the Mediterranean Sea, Misurata City has been the major trade and commerce hub for Libya for three thousand years. Present day operations at the port were restricted by its size and facilities and an expansion was needed to cope with an increase in container trade.

Beckett Rankine prepared the Masterplan for the expansion which would enable the port to berth super post Panamax ships and so become a hub for the Central Mediterranean. The project was fast tracked in order to be ready for the arrival of one of the largest container vessels in the world.

Dredging was required to create 2000 metres of deep water berths with a sandy seabed overlying bedrock at varying elevations. Site investigations were needed to decide upon the appropriate dredging equipment to form the deeper entrance channel and to determine the optimum layout of the berths.