Ships arriving at the Port of Townsville will be allowed to berth and unload cargo upon arrival as of midnight tomorrow (00:01 am Friday 01 May) Angus Mitchell, the General Manager of Maritime Safety Queensland, has advised.
Ships will no longer have to wait 14-days from the time of leaving an overseas port. Vessels will still need to be compliant with Federal directives.
Meanwhile, as at the time of writing (17:23 on 29 April), we understand that ships calling at Townsville ex-China and South Korea will, nonetheless, still be required to wait 14-days before berthing.
Shipping Australia understands that the change has been made to help Queensland more closely align with national rules.
In 2018/2019, Townsville handled 7.04 million tonnes of cargo, of which 2.12 million was import cargo and 4.9 million was export cargo. Townsville also handled 56,575 TEU in the same year.
Cargo handled at Townsville includes cattle, minerals (concentrates and refined products), motor vehicles, other break bulk, fertiliser, sugar, sulphur, tallow, molasses, petroleum products and others.
Further, and up-to-date, details of restrictions on shipping in Queensland can be found in our jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction breakdown of restrictions in Australia.
REMEMBER: read the national restrictions together with the state and territory restrictions! Also be aware that restrictions will vary state-by-state and may also vary port-by-port and even terminal-by-terminal.
