PIANC MarCom Working Group 225 in Pavia: new guidelines for seismic design of ports

immagine articolo PIANC con logo a sinistra e immagine porto a destra

From 14 to 16 October 2025, the Eucentre Foundation in Pavia will host the MarCom Working Group 225 of the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC), the international reference body for port and river infrastructure. 

Context and objectives of the Working Group 

WG 225 has the critical mandate of updating the existing guidelines (PIANC WG 34 of 2001) for the seismic design of port structures, introducing a performance-based approach that is flexible and globally applicable. The new guidelines aim to address the limitations of traditional force-balance methodologies by emphasising performance objectives, the choice between analysis methods and a geographically diverse range of applications. 

Next meeting in Pavia (October 2025) 

Under the leadership of Japanese coordinator Atsushi Nozu, WG 225 will meet for the first time in Pavia, hosted by Eucentre. International experts will participate, including our Francesca Bozzoni (Eucentre research engineer) and Prof. Carlo G. Lai of the University of Pavia, both active members of the group. This initiative reinforces Eucentre’s role as an international hub for research in earthquake engineering and as a contributor to the definition of globally recognised technical standards.