The Stavanger Falcon was the one of the first vessel movements at the Port of Brisbane post-floods on 3 March, under the direction of the Acting Regional Harbour Master.
FROM THE PORT OF BRISBANE
The recent flood event has significantly disrupted and devastated many communities in South East Queensland and northern New South Wales, and the thoughts of Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd (PBPL) continues to be with everyone impacted.
Port operations were impacted due to the flooding, with the sheer volume of debris and build-up of siltation creating dangerous conditions in the navigational channel. This dangerous marine environment led to the Acting Regional Harbour Master (Maritime Safety Queensland) to temporarily halt shipping movements at the Port.
In total, upwards of 160 obstructive items were identified by Maritime Safety Queensland downstream of Hamilton together with around 60 navigational aids that were rendered in operable.
The recovery efforts were further impacted by the sheer force and turbidity of the Brisbane River for days and weeks afterwards, which created challenging conditions for all involved.
Waterside operations were most significantly disrupted, with landside access to the Port remaining open by road and rail throughout.
Under the direction of the Acting Regional Harbour Master, PBPL and its customers and stakeholders have worked around the clock to help identify and remove debris to enable the safe resumption of shipping movements.
For PBPL, our efforts were focused on deploying our team of Hydrographic Surveyors, supported by our Marine Crew, who used their world-class hydrographic surveying technology to identify potential hazards in and around wharf infrastructure.
While it took time to restore shipping movements, safety must always come first.
On Thursday 3 March, following extensive planning and simulation, the first vessel movement was authorised by the Regional Harbour Master.
The movement was made under extreme caution and a result of strong collaboration between the Regional Harbour Master, Svitzer, Ampol, PBPL’s Operations personnel, Pilots, and the ships’ agents and masters. Subsequent shipping movements continued to operate under the same caution as the first.
It is pleasing to see the port returning to normal operations under the direction of the Acting Regional Harbour Master.
It has been a challenging time for the port community, as it has been for so many across SEQ and northern NSW. We thank all of our customers, stakeholders and the community for their patience and will continue to prioritise safe operations in all that we do.
