Port’s bigger future

By Michelle Herbison
A TREND to bigger ships presents “major challenges” for Geelong’s port, according to a maritime consultant.
Thompson Clarke director Sandy Galbraith said Geelong might need more berths and deeper shipping channels in the next 10 to 15 years.
Mr Galbraith said a new study would determine forecasts affecting the port.
Victorian Regional Channels Authority chief executive officer Captain Peter McGovern said the port moved about 12 million tonnes of goods in the past year.
Recent rain had boosted the port’s grain exports to an expected 2.5 million tonnes this year compared to only 70,000 in 2009 and 2010, he said.
Cpt McGovern said determining the port’s limits on trade was “hard to say” without knowing whether it would obtain additional infrastructure investment.
The impact of bigger ships on the port would be “gradual”, he said.
“The markets (for increased exports from the port) are there first and (bigger ships are) much more efficient when we look at cost.
“As ships get bigger, all facilities associated with them including berths, loading facilities and channels probably need to get bigger.”
Cpt McGovern said sharing Corio Bay effectively with recreational boaters was also a concern.
A 2010 analysis found that Geelong’s port generated 1302 direct and indirect jobs and $180 million in gross regional product.
The report predicted trade and employment to triple in two decades.
Cpt McGovern said the port was “really important” for Geelong jobs.