The 5th International Conference on The Application of Physical Modelling to Port and Coastal Protection, COASTLAB14, was organized in Varna, Bulgaria, 29 September to 2 October 2014, by the Black Sea - Danube Coastal Research Association, under the auspices of the International Association of Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR), Coastal and Maritime Hydraulics Committee (CMHC). Coastlab14 continued successful tradition, after Porto (2006), Bari (2008), Barcelona (2010) and Ghent (2012), to provide a forum to discuss the latest developments in physical modelling in the field of coastal and harbour engineering.