Hobart’s failing port threatens to sabotage Australia’s Antarctic program and gateway status

The nation’s Antarctic chief warns Australia’s operations and push to become a major ‘gateway’ to the frozen continent are being jeopardised by Hobart’s substandard port infrastructure.

Australia's new Antarctic icebreaker RSV Nuyina, Big Lift vessel Happy Dragon, and Aiviq, an American icebreaker, at anchor in Hobar. Picture: Simon Payne/Australian Antarctic Division

Australia’s Antarctic operations and push to become a major gateway to the frozen continent are being jeopardised by Hobart’s substandard port infrastructure, warns the nation’s Antarctic chief.

Kim Ellis, director of the Australian Antarctic Division, said the Port of Hobart could not properly support the nation’s $528m new icebreaker resupply vessel, RSV Nuyina.

Without significant “vital” upgrades to the ageing wharves, Mr Ellis warned, Hobart could not meet the demands of Australia’s Antarctic Program, much less fulfil hopes of becoming a major global gateway to Antarctica.

“Australia is a leader in Antarctic science and logistics and Hobart’s role as the Antarctic gateway requires port facilities to match,” Mr Ellis said, in comments backed by 80 polar-focused businesses and organisations.

“Our world-leading Antarctic science icebreaker, RSV Nuyina, is the centrepiece of Australia’s Antarctic Program and Hobart’s existing port infrastructure is not able to accommodate it properly.

“To provide the facilities and access the Australian Antarctic Program requires, upgrades to the strength and power supply of (Hobart’s) Macquarie Wharf are vital. A dedicated polar wharf for RSV Nuyina and other ships would be an important commitment to build on Hobart’s Antarctic gateway status and resolve access issues for shipping.”

The Tasmanian Polar Network backed the assessment, warning the Port of Hobart was “struggling” with too few berths and inadequate facilities while prioritising access for cruise ships over Antarctic vessels.

Network chairman Richard Fader said concrete cancer prevented heavy vehicle access to much of the wharf, poor configuration exacerbated a shortage of berths, and there was no ability for ships to connect to the power grid.

“That’s creating conflict between Antarctic and cruise (ships),” Mr Fader said. “At one stage (last year) the port was visited by four Antarctic research vessels at the same time, which would not have been possible if a cruise ship was scheduled.”

Mr Fader said $120m was urgently needed to upgrade the “significantly degraded” port.

“The port is struggling, and will especially struggle when cruise ships come back in the next few months, to support the requirements currently, much less in the future,” Mr Fader said.

“There’s a lot of projected shipping that will use Hobart – other Antarctic nations’ vessels and Southern Ocean (Border Force) patrol vessels would like to home port in Hobart.

“But we really need to have more wharf space, or the wharf space we’ve got brought up to a contemporary standard that is suitable.”

With Antarctica becoming a geopolitical hotspot, Hobart – already summer home to Australia’s icebreaker RSV Nuyina and France’s equivalent L’Astrolabe - risked losing a pipeline of new supply visits to rival ports in New Zealand.

Each such ship visit was worth $1m to $2m to local suppliers. Overall, the sector was worth $230m a year with strong growth and “huge” potential for more visits by Antarctic vessels from the US, South Korea, Japan and, if relations improved, China.

Redevelopment of Hobart’s Macquarie Wharf was placed on Infrastructure Australia’s priority list in 2021 but remained unfunded.

It appears the Tasmanian government wants federal funding before proceeding with a major upgrade of Macquarie Wharf.

The government deferred questions to the state-owned TasPorts, whose chief executive, Anthony Donald, said his agency was “finalising a business case” to Infrastructure Australia for a major upgrade of the kind sought.

“TasPorts is excited about the opportunity to undertake work within the port and is working through due process,” Mr Donald said.

“Cruise, Antarctic, and cargo shipping will continue to coexist and in fact become better once additional working berths become available.”