Upgrade ports to accommodate bigger, more efficient ships

Australia is unable to benefit from potential cost reductions and efficiency improvements because of port constraints, says the IA.

Shipping container ports on Australia’s east coast need to be up­graded to accommodate the new breed of bigger, more efficient ships that increasingly dominate seaborne trade, Infrastructure Australia is warning.

IA’s priority list for 2020, ­released on Wednesday, includes an initiative recommending port authorities in NSW, Victoria and Queensland follow the example of Western Australia and look to ­develop projects to expand the deep water ports of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, or look to develop new port locations.

Globally, the capacity of container ships has expanded as companies look to become more efficient by hauling greater loads across the world’s oceans. These ships are now capable of carrying 20,000 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs).

Sydney’s Botany Bay seaport is able to accommodate only ships of 10,000 TEUs, while the Port of Melbourne is limited to about 8000 TEUs. The IA report says that as a result, “Australia is unable to benefit from potential cost ­reductions and efficiency ­improvements because of container port constraints”.

The inability to cater to this trend towards larger container ships means “we are missing ­opportunities”, IA chief executive Romilly Madew said.

The Westport taskforce will look at Perth and southwest WA’s freight, trade and logistics requirements for the next 50-100 years, but “given the preference of cargo ships to make multiple stops on a route, a network of deep water ports will likely be required, rather than a single port at a given ­location,” the report says.

“This incentivises shipping lines to provide larger vessels to service Australia and maximises potential economic efficiencies.”

“We need to look at our ports, whether that’s channel deepening or the development of new locations,” Ms Madew said.

She said that IA’s role was to identify the problem, and she hoped “the port authorities will come up with a solution”.