Belgian breakwater II black and white by Leo van Valkenburg

Breakwaters are usually built at the entrance of ports to create therein for ships in the harbor and out and to create . Calm water in the harbor itself a sheltered waters For sailing , it is especially the surf where ships suffer . A characteristic feature of breakwaters is that they are transverse to the coast and will extend through the surf zone around so into the area where the waves do not break even by itself .

The operation of a breakwater is simple in principle , the waves which come to be on the outside of the breakwater broken or reflected from the sea. Thus between the breakwaters , a relatively calm sea.

Usually a breakwater so built to protect ships annoying waves . Port (mouth ) Sometimes between the breakwaters even a complete port built , as in Zeebrugge . Besides breakwaters are sometimes even built as a coastal protection measure. The breakwaters are then parallel to the coast, making a golfluw area behind the breakwaters created. Eventually, a coastal them could be "growing " , which local erosion problems can be solved . However, this solution also involves morphological problems with it ; why are these so-called " detached breakwaters " not yet implemented in the Netherlands.