‘Useless’ jetty plan criticised
Call for dredging or $7m Yarrabah jetty will be ‘useless’
A $7 MILLION piece of infrastructure that is designed to help provide a crucial sea link between Cairns and Yarrabah has been branded “useless” by a ferry operator.
Yarrabah’s new jetty under construction by the Queensland Government is going to sit in ankle-deep water which is too shallow for commercial operators, according to Dindarr Pty Ltd.
The company, which has purchased two ferries to commence operating a service across Trinity Bay, has instead proposed an alternative – but this requires more government investment.
A FERRY operator claims Yarrabah’s $7 million jetty will be useless by the time it’s completed because the water will be too shallow for commercial vessels.
Dindarr Pty Ltd has used $1 million in federal funding to buy two second-hand ferries to provide a link across Trinity Bay between the indigenous community and Cairns.
However the company says the 165m-long jetty it hoped to be operating from, which is under construction at the northern end of Mission Bay, will be sitting in ankle-deep water, making it unusable for anything other than fishing, unless the bay is dredged to 1m.
“We’ve done a depth trial, and at the end of the jetty, on a 50cm tide, there’s 5cm of water there,” Dindarr managing director Peter McAllister said.
“That means you wouldn’t be able to get a ferry in there.
“The jetty will only be accessible 25 per cent of operating hours on average. It’s a complete waste of money.”
The company has instead proposed establishing a bus service from Yarrabah to a ferry station on a property it is hoping to buy at East Trinity, which has deep water access to the bay. It is seeking an “angel” investor to provide funding of $1 million for capital expenditure and an additional $600,000 in start-up costs.
“This is a proposal that will actually work, whereas the TMR (Department of Transport and Main Roads) proposal won’t,” Mr McAllister said.
The department has acknowledged that due to tidal variations in Mission Bay, the new jetty will be accessible by boats with a 1.3m draft, about 55 per cent of the time.
“A 1m draft vessel will have accessibility 70 per cent of the time and the draft of a vessel determines the minimum depth of water a ship or boat can safely navigate,” the department’s website says.
“The project location in the vicinity of the town’s current boat ramp is the most suitable option and will provide the best access to deep water.”
A TMR spokesman said works on the jetty were expected to be finished by December 2019, weather permitting.
“When complete, the jetty will provide opportunities for tourism and commuter services to be developed between Yarrabah and Cairns,” he said.