Winning in the West

WITH WA enjoying strong growth in the cruise segment, particularly around Broome, we are excited to welcome Kimberley Ports Authority (KPA) back as a member of the Association.

Kevin Shellack, ceo of KPA told us that in 2016, the Port of Broome welcomed 16 large vessels.

In 2017, this grew to 19 large and 36 small cruise vessel visits, with 2018 also looking strong and predictions are for even further growth.

The announcement that the first of Ponant’s six Explorer-class vessels, has left the shipyards will contribute to this growth as the cruise line is expected to deploy some of these vessels on their Kimberley itineraries.

This increase in cruise passenger visits is hugely beneficial to the retail and tourism sectors in Broome and also assists with growing the WA economy overall. In response to this increase in cruise ships, KPA is managing a Channel Optimisation project which will deepen and widen the approach channel improving large vessel access and manoeuvrability in the region.

This $7 million project is a joint effort by several state authorities and KPA.

A tender will be released in Jun to kick off the initiative.

KPA is also working on the introduction of an improved deck gangway system to accelerate large vessel transfers and provide improved disability access. We welcome KPA back to ACA and thank them for their generous sponsorship of the Gala Dinner at our Conference in Broome in Sep.