Geelong is island’s cargo link

KING Island’s new freight vessel, John Duigan, is due to arrive in Geelong for the first time early Monday under an agreement with GeelongPort that will see the vessel making regular trips to the city.

The Bass Island Line will sail the 80m John Duigan weekly from Geelong, on to Grassy in King Island, then to Bell Bay on mainland Tasmania before returning to Geelong.

The company is bringing John Duigan into service as part of its commitment to providing a safe and reliable shipping service for the King Island community.

It replaces the smaller Investigator II, which sailed cargo from Devonport to King Island with the cargo having to come to Tasmania from Melbourne via another shipping provider.

GeelongPort chief executive Brett Winter said Geelong was chosen because of the efficient services for the handling and storage capability it provided for fertiliser and other primary King Island cargoes.

“Operating Bass Island Line’s John Duigan service out of GeelongPort allows us to support the King Island community. GeelongPort is committed to being the island’s critical link to Victoria,” Mr Winter said.

Bass Island Line is a whollyowned subsidiary of TasPorts, a state-owned company.

TasPorts chief executive Paul Weedon said that by offering a direct route from Geelong it was driving down customers’ overall costs and speeding up delivery times.