2023 has been a busy year for ports in Australia. There have been some major developments with regard to planning new terminals to improve the logistics scope in the country.
Work in motion on Adelaide spur line
The South Australian government has announced work will begin on a new spur line at Port Adelaide.
The state’s government has committed $51 million to the Port Dock Railway Project. This initiative entails the reestablishment of a one kilometer line and station.
The Australian rail freight sector is set for good growth in the next five years. The country has a diverse rail freight network.
In October, Aurizon launched a container service on Australia’s east coast. The company operates a weekly return service on the Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane route.
DP World in Brisbane
Smart logistics solutions company DP World has broken ground for a new container park in Brisbane. The state-of-the-art facility is located on Fisherman Islands.
The facility will provide customers with a suite of supply chain services tailored to specific needs. The new container park, situated at the mouth of the Brisbane River, will buttress the port’s capacity to respond to surging trade volumes in the city, including the rise in demand for commodities such as crude oil, refined oil, and cement.
Let’s not forget the recent cyber attack, either. Last month, DP World’s operations were affected when it went down for three days. The company is responsible for a massive 40% of the country’s maritime freight.
The disruptions were quite crippling. Here’s how operations were affected.
- Four major DPW ports were directly affected.
- Receiving export cargo was directly impacted and unable to be processed.
- Trucks were unable to be authorized to enter the landside operations of terminals.
- Ship movement was unaffected.
National strategic fleet
Last month, the Australian government announced it will build up a strategic fleet that will add resilience to the nation’s supply chain. The move comes after the Strategic Fleet Task Force was formed to develop Australia’s shipping fleet.
The government hopes this fleet will improve Australia’s future maritime capability with an Australian-owned and crewed strategic fleet.
New container terminal in Western Australia
The state government in Western Australia has unveiled plans for a new container terminal. The location at Kwinana is set to keep the state’s economy strong in years to come.
The design of the terminal will accommodate larger ships than the existing Fremantle terminal and incorporates redevelopment of the aging Kwinana Bulk Terminal jetty. The development’s cost and timings will be completed by mid-2024.
Port Industry analysis
IBIS World reports there has been much investment in Australian ports in recent years due to facility expansion. This is as a result of more cargo moving through the country.
Port of Melbourne, Port of Brisbane, Port of Sydney, and Port of Adelaide are among the country’s major ports.
Here are some highlights of the port industry in Australia.
- More cargo volumes in recent years have meant more demand for cargo-handling services.
- States that have ferry operations attract business.
- Larger cargo volumes have boosted revenue growth.
Australia’s top ports
International freight platform SHIPHUB ranks Port of Melbourne as the country’s top port. It reports Melbouirne’s port as one of the largest ports in the southern hemisphere. In 2003, Port of Melbourne was the first port in Australia to handle two million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) annually.
SHIPHUB’s Australian port ranking:
- Port of Melbourne
- Port of Sydney/Port Botany
- Port of Brisbane
- Fremantle Port
- Darwin Port
About the author
Sharl is a qualified journalist. He has over 10 years’ experience in the media industry, including positions as an editor of a magazine and Business Editor of a daily newspaper. Sharl also has experience in logistics specifically operations, where he worked with global food aid organisations distributing food into Africa. Sharl enjoys writing business stories and human interest pieces.
