Dredging inlet is now priority
A NEW report which shows the value of cruise shipping to the Far North once again emphasises the urgency of the dredging of Trinity Inlet.
Cairns has been rated the fourth most visited port after Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
The economic impact of cruise shipping was $170 million in the 2017-18 financial year, an increase of $11m.
Passengers spent $40m, crew spent $2.4m and cruise lines spent $32.8m in Cairns, based on 57 ship visits to the port, including the lucrative home porting of Pacific Eden, which has now been axed, and its sister ship Pacific Aria also disappearing from the itinerary.
The two ships made 24 visits in the 2017-18 financial year, a fair chunk of the 57 visits, leaving a big hole to fill with no replacements from Carnival Australia in sight.
More importantly the date for dredging to allow bigger cruise ships up to 300m long to enter the port is still uncertain.
Ports North has set an interim period of mid-2019 but all the necessary approvals have yet to be made.
At this stage the biggest liner scheduled to dock at the port seven times in the next 18 months is the 261m-long Sea Princess carrying more than 2000 passengers.
Ships such as 294m-long Norwegian Jewel (2376 passengers), 292.5m Carnival Spirit (2680) and the 294m long Costa Luminosa (3570) will remain anchored off Yorkeys Knob as the wheels of bureaucracy grind slowly. Nick Dalton Deputy editor FOR THE RECORD: A story in Monday’s Cairns Post incorrectly referred to a skydive taking place to mark the anniversary of last year’s Mission Beach tragedy. The skydive did not go ahead because of weather conditions. The Cairns Post apologises for the error. The Cairns Post is committed to accurate, fair and fearless publication of news and commentary. But we acknowledge and aim to promptly correct errors when they occur. Corrections, clarifications and explanations the newspaper wishes to make will appear in this space. If you are aware of an error in this newspaper, please contact editorial@cairnspost.com.au or phone 4052 6627.