Marine surveys part of work to anchor cruise ship off Fraser

THE arrival of P&O’s Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden has come after an extensive five month process including surveying the bottom of the Great Sandy Strait.

THE arrival of P&O's Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden has come after an extensive five month process that included surveying the bottom of the Great Sandy Strait.

On Tuesday the Chronicle revealed the Aria and Eden would anchor off Kingfisher Bay Resort on Fraser Island in April and December next year.

Following the two initial trips the vessels will make five more voyages to the region in 2017.

The main reason the ships can enter the Strait is due to the Aria and Eden's size.

At 55,000 tonnes the two newest P&O ships are about 20,000 tonnes smaller than the rest of the fleet.

P&O Cruises spokesman David Jones talked about the work that went in to getting the ships here. "We worked with various marine stakeholders including Marine Safety Queensland, which carried out a hydrographic survey of the important entrance area as part of the planning," he said.

GETTING HERE

The ships will use a deep channel east of Big Woody to anchor off Fraser Island

Marine surveys help mark channel for Pacific Eden and Aria