Channel Deepening Project in Australia

ASSESSMENT TASK 3- CHANNEL DEEPENING PROJECT~

PORT PHILLIP BAY CHANNEL DEEPENING PROJECT

1. What are the reasons for the Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening Project?

The Channel Deepening Project is managed by the Port of Melbourne Cooperation (PoMC). It involves sections of Port Phillip Bay’s shipping channel being dredged as it is too shallow for some large container ships to enter. Port Phillip Bay is the largest and busiest shipping port in Australia, with approximately six thousand to eight thousand cargos coming through each week.

The Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening Project is occurring for many reasons, however the main reasons is to accommodate larger, commercial, and container ships to enter Melbourne, especially those with a 14 metre draught, at all tides. Currently, the maximum draught for vessels to enter the channel is 11.6m and 12.1m for a tide-assisted draught. Through the deepening of the channel, more cargo will be able to be carried in and out of Australia in one trip, approximately 8000 containers. This will allow more exporting and importing activities to take place, therefore increasing the Australian market.

Another reason for the channel deepening is to allow more trading to occur. Currently, as mentioned above, the ships carry a small number of cargos, slowing down the importing and exporting process. This costs more money, as more ships will be needed to carry the rest of the cargo. With larger ships, more cargo will be carried into the port, lowering transport costs and creating a more efficient economy.

The last reason for the deepening of the bay is so that more ships are able to enter the Port of Melbourne without any issues, also assisting with the trading process and will also be beneficial to the country.

2. What are the expected benefits of the Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening Project?

The expected benefits for the Channel Deepening Project mostly are beneficial to the economy. As the dredging will provide access...