This Month
Full speed ahead on Darwin Port sale
Industry players and analysts expect the government to push the sale after the Chinese-owned port failed to cause a stir in Beijing.
Glencore ordered to pay $3m to Newcastle port after court loss
The NSW port, which mostly exports coal, had claimed that it was owed $3 million in unpaid invoices in a dispute over wharfage fees.
Port fees are ‘out of control’, say shipping lines
The shipping industry has joined importers and exporters in calling for regulation of Australia’s ports as fees continue to soar.
Global freight prices tumble, except for goods shipped to Australia
Tariffs announced by the Trump administration have caused havoc with freight companies, but costs into the country are defying global trends, cargo groups say.
June
Family-run shipping container biz Tradecorp launches beauty parade
The company has issued a confidential fact sheet that talks up an ambitious growth strategy, 20 per cent market share and $93 million in revenues recorded last year.
Glebe Island housing plan risks freight cost blowout
As the NSW government considers moving Bays Port for housing, a freight review has warned the prime real estate will come at a cost.
Turnbull says he could have halted Port of Darwin lease
The former prime minister said that when he approved the lease with a Chinese company a decade ago, security agencies had no concerns about the deal.
May
Toll, super funds join suitors for Chinese-owned Darwin Port
The logistics powerhouse would add an Australian flavour to a bid by an American private equity fund for the controversial asset.
April
Trump’s trade war creates worse shipping turmoil than the pandemic
One of the world’s most respected maritime analytics firms says global container volumes will fall this year for only the third time in almost five decades.
Shipping giants face surging demand before tariffs hit global freight
Executives at big maritime transport businesses and ports warn consumers could get hit with higher prices as importers scramble “to get cargo in under the wire”.
Trump trade war shakes up shipping and ripples to Australia
International shipping lines are cancelling scheduled port calls or entire voyages and some are preparing to idle vessels with crew aboard as cargo volumes drop.
Sanjeev Gupta refuses to hand over control of Whyalla port
KordaMentha has taken the British industrialist to court, claiming he refuses to hand it control of the town’s port, jeopardising plans to find a new owner.
Marles won’t say if US pressure led to Port of Darwin U-turn
Defence Minister Richard Marles declined on four occasions to say what had occurred since late 2023 to change the policy on the port’s Chinese ownership.
Why Darwin Port struggles to excite potential buyers
Chinese firm Landbridge won an auction with 33 interested parties in 2015 for the tricky and political Port of Darwin. It was a very different time to now.
Dutton to force Chinese company to sell Darwin Port; Albanese agrees
Peter Dutton has promised to end the Port of Darwin lease if elected and return it to Australian ownership. Anthony Albanese will do the same.
March
ACCC warning on DP World’s $174m takeover sends Silk shares diving
The purchase of the ASX-listed warehousing and port services group by the global stevedore could lessen competition and send the price of goods higher.
‘Not for sale’: Landbridge disputes Labor’s Darwin Port claim
Luke Gosling, the Labor MP for Solomon, which covers greater Darwin, this week claimed discussions were under way between the Northern Territory and Albanese governments to buy back the port.
January
Trump is wrong: Climate change, not China, is the threat to Panama Canal
Any loss of capacity, which is more likely to be caused by drought will ripple through supply chains and push up costs in Australia.
November 2024
Darwin Port’s Chinese owner scrambles to stave off forced sale
The possibility Darwin Port could be taken back was welcomed by Coalition MPs who believe the key asset should never have been sold to the Chinese.
‘Maybe we can use Zeppelins’: Australia’s missing infrastructure links
Solar panels and wind turbines crucial to Australia’s energy transition are piling up at a key port because the nation does not have the infrastructure to move them.