DCN May Edition 2019

QUEENSLAND
An ambitious growth agenda has been delivered on by the Port
of Brisbane during the past 12 months, management says.
Chief executive Roy Cummins told Daily Cargo News the
port has one eye on the present and another on the future.
“The work we are doing now to increase our channel and
wharf capacity will help position the Port of Brisbane well for the
future – we are determined that Brisbane will never be the limiting
factor for shipping on Australia’s east coast,” Mr Cummins said.
“The implementation of our world-leading vessel traffic
management system, NCOS Online, has already enabled the port
to welcome larger container vessels without the need to undertake
capital dredging in the near-term.”
Globally, there is increasing utilisation of container vessels larger
than 15,000 TEU on east-west routes, resulting in a cascading
effect of less than 15,000 TEU vessels onto other routes including,
in time, the east coast of Australia.
In 2017, Brisbane welcomed the 9500 TEU Susan Maersk and the
port now welcomes regular calls from 8500 TEU vessels.
“We have delivered cutting edge technology to maximise the
capacity of our channel, while completing a $110m upgrade of
our main road artery, Port Drive, and beginning groundworks
on our brand new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal,” Mr
Cummins said.
“I’m also proud of our renewed focus on sustainability issues
as well as a raft of new gender diversity policies, particularly our
24-month female cadetship program.”
At the same time the port has managed to sustain steady growth
across almost all commodities except agricultural exports, which
has slumped due to drought.
The Port of Brisbane has gone from being a net exporter of
agricultural seeds to a net importer. Export volumes of bulk
agricultural grain decreased from 619,866 tonnes in 2017 to
61,314 tonnes in 2018.
“We have, however, seen a significant increase in bulk grain -
wheat and barley - imports as shipments from inter-state, mostly
Western Australia and South Australia, arrive at the port destined
for farmers in south-west Queensland,” Mr Cummins said.
Port of Brisbane is currently an “import port” for bulk grain,
with import volumes exceeding one million tonnes in 2018
compared with zero in 2016.
Coal exports have remained fairly consistent during the last few
years, reaching just over seven million tonnes in 2018.
Container volumes have continued to rise over recent years,
growing from 1.175m TEU in 2016 to 1.377m TEU in 2018.
CAPACITY THROUGH TECHNOLOGY
The hydrodynamic and vessel behaviour modelling from NCOS
Online has enabled a 50cm increase in maximum container vessel
draught in certain weather conditions.
“NCOS is also giving us the ability to reduce vessel transit times
across the Bay,” Mr Cummins said.
For example, the port is now seeing almost 60% more bulk
carriers leaving at 14 metres and transiting the channel in one tide,
where previously it was done in two high tides – a significant time
and cost saving for stakeholders such as exporters.
“We have a comprehensive program of infrastructure
improvement works underway to help us cater for future growth,”
Mr Cummins said. These include the construction of a second
swing basin (almost complete), a bollard replacement project for
INVESTING
IN QUEENSLAND’S
FUTURE
Preparing ports to continue increasing
capacity is a key focus, as significant funds
are sunk into accommodating bigger ships
in Queensland, writes Paula Wallace
26 May 2019
thedcn.com.au