Dredge call for cruises
Supporters say big ships need city access
DREDGING supporters have ramped up calls that Trinity Inlet be dredged to let in more cruise ships in the wake of the traffic crash at Yorkeys Knob on the weekend.
Dozens of cruise ship passengers were stuck in traffic along Yorkeys Knob Rd on Saturday morning after a bus and a car collided near the Cattana Rd intersection.
The passengers were from the Princess Cruises’ Golden Princess, which docked off the beach earlier that morning.
The 290m cruise ship is too large to moor at the Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal.
Cairns Port Development president Ron Crew, whose group is fighting to have the Cairns shipping channel dredged, said the crash strengthened the case for deepening and widening the inlet and the swing basin.
“The lack of cruise ships is affecting our economy,” Mr Crew said.
“It’s about time that we get this done.”
The Cairns Shipping Development Project, which is awaiting approval by the Queensland Government, proposes to remove one million cubic metres of dredge spoil from the inlet, and deposit the sediment on land.
According to Ports North, the development will pave the way for an extra 70 cruise ships – potentially up to 300m in length – to visit Cairns annually by 2031.
The original plan was to remove 4.4 million cubic metres of dredge spoil from the channel, which Mr Crew said his group was still pushing for.
“We don’t believe that’s enough dredging … because it’s going to cut out so many ships that are going to come on line in the next 10 years,” he said.
He said he had no doubt the issue would be taken by both major parties to the upcoming state election.
“We’ll make sure it’s brought out before all the people, the candidates and all that,” he said.
“It’s something that is just so glaringly necessary for the growth for our city.”
Ports North chairman Russell Beer said he believed the Golden Princess would have been able to moor at the city terminal if the inlet had been dredged. He said the weekend crash at Yorkeys Knob was more a road than dredging issue.
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