Review of recent research and developments on floating breakwaters

Floating breakwaters are an effective solution for protecting fragile beaches from being washed away, coastlines from erosion, floating structures, marinas and ports from strong wave action. This paper presents a literature review on the research and developments of floating breakwaters. Floating breakwaters may be categorized into seven main types, namely, the box-type, the pontoon-type, the frame-type, the mat-type, the tethered float type, the horizontal plate type and other types. The research and developments as well as the performance of these different types of floating breakwaters and wave attenuating devices are reviewed and discussed.