Ports Victoria

Today on June 25, International Day of the Seafarer, Ports Victoria celeberates seafarers and their contribution to shipping, trade and society.

The Day was established by the International Maritime Organization - IMO in 2010 in recognition of the thousands of seafarers working on ships around the world, carrying cargo and people.

For 2024, the day has a focus on seafarers' contribution to making the maritime sector a safer workplace.

To raise awareness about the safety of seafarers, the IMO is promoting a social media campaign for seafarers who are invited to share photos and top tips for safety at sea, using the hashtag, .

Ports Victoria invites people to explore and learn more on the seafarers contribution to making their workplace safe

May 18 is the day we celebrate the International Day for Women in Maritime.

Each year the IMO promotes a new and important theme for the day and this year’s is “Safe Horizons: Women Shaping the Future of Maritime Safety".

Ports Victoria takes pride in celebrating our very own “Women in Maritime”. CEO Craig Walker said “It’s a privilege leading an organisation that has some of the best people in the maritime sector, and furthermore, where women feature in all areas across our business. This day, like every other day, we acknowledge the important work they are doing in a global setting for the state and the nation.”

They work in maritime safety-related areas including:
• Vessel Traffic Service Officers (VTSOs)
• Deputy Harbour Master
• Risk management
• Transport Safety

Others work in specialist areas across Finance, Corporate Services, Strategy & Development – all supporting Ports Victoria’s role in providing safe navigation in the waters of Victoria’s commercial ports.

Our women VTSOs whose role is to ensure safe navigation, include five women recruited under our proactive Maritime Equity Program. They are all now qualified and working with shipping for the ports of Geelong and Hastings.

Lest we forget.

As we commemorate Anzac Day 2024, we would like to share an image with you taken this week at Gallipoli.

How different it must look from what the troops saw on that fateful day in 1915. The new life in the greenery, foreboding clouds and the edge of the water tell a story that will not be forgotten.

Two significant moments to share this past week for our Ports Victoria team.

Friday 22 Feb saw the elegantly appointed Queen Mary 2 arrive for a quick visit allowing her passengers 2 days sightseeing in Melbourne and surrounding areas.

The Queen Mary 2 is the flagship of the Cunard Line and was officially named by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2004.
Always popular with the public, she evokes memories of a bygone era with 345m of luxury and a nod to old world charm. The Queen Mary 2 can carry 2691 guests and has 1173 crew.

While the Queen Mary 2 has been a frequent visitor to Station Pier over the past 2 decades, making her maiden visit to our port on Monday 26 February was Ambience.

Ambience is the first ship from the Ambassador Cruise Line, a new player in the cruise industry when compared with others.

At 245m in length, Ambience carries around 1400 guests in 789 cabins.

To celebrate her maiden visit there was a plaque exchange between Captain Hugh Maynard and Glen Colaco, Station Pier Manager.

Ports Victoria’s new CEO, Craig Walker, attended his first ship plaque exchange in Melbourne this week, welcoming Captain Steve Holland, master of the Royal Princess on its first visit to Station Pier.

Craig said, “The cruise ships are valued customers of Ports Victoria. The Royal Princess is the sixth of eight maiden visits to Station Pier this season and the 99th ship to call in this record season of 129 scheduled visits.

I’m delighted at how smoothly the cruise operations run and I congratulate the Ports Victoria cruise and marine operations teams on their work.”

Thirty more ships will visit the pier over the coming weeks before the end of the 2023-24 cruise season in Melbourne.

Want to know more about when ships will be arriving? Head to the Ports Victoria Cruise Schedule online http://bit.ly/portsviccruiseschedule

This week marks the first visit to Melbourne of Viking Cruises ship, Viking Neptune.

Built in 2022, the Viking Neptune is one of the line's fleet of small ships carrying only 930 guests, and with the ability to dock in ports where larger vessels cannot.

Warwick Laing, Melbourne Harbour Master was present for the traditional exchange of the welcome plaque.

A reminder to stay safe on the water over the holiday period.

Shipping doesn’t take a holiday.

it’s not that often we see a new ship docking in Port Melbourne but tomorrow marks the first call in Melbourne for Resilient Lady, the third ship to join the Virgin Voyages fleet of ‘ladies’.

Resilient Lady made her long-awaited debut in May 2023 and joined the ranks of Richard Branson’s glamour cruise line. She’s been described as a boutique hotel at sea and caters for 2770 (adults only) passengers and 1160 Crew.

The Virgin Voyages line was launched at the end of 2021 and since then has won award after award for high-end service, Michelin-starred food, and sophisticated design.

If you would like to know more about the schedule for ships coming into Melbourne this cruise season, you can find out more on the Ports Victoria website.

Tomorrow marks the first call to Station Pier for Royal Caribbean Cruises ship, Brilliance of the Seas.

Brilliance of the Seas has a maximum capacity of 2,543 passengers and 848 crew.

For those who like to know statistics about the cruise ships coming to Melbourne, Brilliance of the Seas boasts a length of 292 metres and a gross tonnage of 90,090. She belongs to the Royal Caribbean’s Radiance Class, a class of four ships built in Germany in the early 2000’s.

Brilliance of the Seas is scheduled to make a return to Station Pier in January and March 2024.

If you would like to know more about the schedule for ships coming into Melbourne this cruise season, you can find out more on the Ports Victoria website.

Ports Victoria acknowledges the decision by container terminal operators DP World to temporarily close its Victorian operations, following a cyber-security incident.

It should be noted that this closure impacts DP World terminal and the remainder of the Port of Melbourne continues to operate as usual.

Ports Victoria will continue to monitor the situation and engage with the port community to reschedule vessel movements as required.

It may be a public holiday in Victoria for the Melbourne Cup but if you’re spending the day enjoying watercraft out on the bay, we want you to have fun but remain safe and take note of this important message from Safe Transport Victoria - Maritime

Today is a day for horses to go fast but for Jetskis to observe speed and distance regulations.

And we urge you, as always, to Keep Clear of Big Ships.

🚤 Cool Your Jets: Speed and Distance Guidelines 🚤

Thrill-seekers, it's crucial to keep your jets in check! Here are the speed and distance regulations you must follow:

🔵 Do not exceed 5 knots within specified distances.
🌊 Whether near people, vessels, structures, or dive flags, maintain a safe speed.
⚓️ Remember, 5 knots equals 8-9 km/h!

Today, October 23, marks the beginning of the 2023-24 Victorian cruise season with the arrival of the Grand Princess at Station Pier in Port Melbourne.

This season 126 cruise ship visits are scheduled for Station Pier, bringing around 350,000 passengers and crew to our shores to . It will be the busiest season to date for Station Pier. In addition, another 22 ship visits are scheduled for other Victorian locations.

While the Grand Princess starts the season, if you’d like to know when other ships are calling at Station Pier, you can visit the cruise schedule on the Ports Victoria website. Keep an eye out for first-time visitors, Disney World from the Disney Cruise Line and Resilient Lady from the Virgin Voyages fleet.

International Maritime Organization - IMO marks World Maritime Day this year on September 28 and Ports Victoria is pleased to play a part in acknowledging this important event.

This year's World Maritime theme is ‘MARPOL at 50 – Our commitment goes on’.

The theme reflects IMO’s commitment to protecting the environment from the impact of shipping. The theme spotlights the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), covering the prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes.

Today is Remembrance Day.

Today we Remember those who gave so much.

As the Victorian State election will be held on Saturday 26 November 2022, the Victorian Government has assumed a caretaker role from 6 pm on 1 November 2022. During the caretaker period, content will only be added in accordance with the caretaker conventions.

Ports Victoria celebrates World Maritime Day today - an annual event highlighting the maritime industry’s contribution to the world’s economy.

As the organisation responsible for the safe navigation of shipping for Victoria’s commercial ports, we are pleased to support this year’s theme of “New technologies for greener shipping”.

In line with the theme, we continue to work with the Department of Transport, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and the Victorian ports sector, helping to investigate the decarbonisation of ports’ activities and promoting lower emissions across the port supply chain.

As an island nation, Australia relies on shipping to export the nation’s goods to international markets and import cargo from around the world.

World Maritime Day was founded by the UN and the International Maritime Organisation.

The attached image is the first purpose-built liquefied hydrogen carrier, the Suiso Frontier, in the Port of Hastings.

The Coral Princess arrived at Station Pier on Thursday morning, 15 September - the first international cruise ship to call at Melbourne since March 2020.

Ports Victoria CEO, Brendan Webb, said, “We are delighted to welcome cruise ships back to Station Pier. We have been working towards their return for many months – preparing the pier and liaising closely with the cruise industry and Victorian and Australian government departments.”

The Coral Princess is the first of 112 cruise ship visits scheduled for Station Pier for the 2022-23 cruise season. The next scheduled visit is on 31 October – one of three ships arriving for the Melbourne Cup.

In 2019, Victoria’s cruise industry contributed $353 million to the state’s economy, bringing in more than 300,000 visitors to the state.

If you want to head to the Cruise Schedule page, https://www.vicports.vic.gov.au/cruise-shipping/Pages/cruise-ship-schedule-1.aspx
or find our more about the Coral Princess https://www.vicports.vic.gov.au/cruise-shipping/Pages/cruise-ship-schedule-1.aspx

The Ocean Onyx offshore exploration drilling rig is scheduled to enter Port Phillip Bay early on Tuesday 12 July 2022.

Towed by two Siem Offshore AHTS (Anchor Handling Tug and Supply) vessels it will be taken to a position near Ports Victoria’s anchorages in Port Phillip Bay where it will spend two weeks being demobilised and readied for moving to its next destination off Western Australia.

Once readied for the rest of its voyage, the rig will leave the bay under tow again by the two supply ships.

The Ocean Onyx is a semi-submersible, column stabilised, mobile, offshore drilling unit, owned by the Diamond Offshore Services Company.

As Ports Victoria celebrates its first anniversary on 1 July, it’s timely to look at a couple of key items from the past year and to look ahead.

Throughout the transition process of merging two operational organisations into one over the last year, we have seamlessly continued to provide services to our customers at the commercial ports of Melbourne, Geelong and Hastings.

Recently, the passage of the Transport Legislation Amendment (Port Reforms and Other Matters) Act 2022 (Vic) in May this year enabled an update to our charter. Now, our charter is to promote and facilitate trade, undertake operational activities and provide technical and consultancy services concerning the whole of the Victorian ports system.

Looking to the future, we will invest in the skills needed to build on our existing operational and delivery expertise to effectively advise the government about development of the Victorian Ports Sector.

Acknowledging and aiming for 30% protection of our oceans and waterways by 2030.

There's always a good reason why recreational craft should remember to

Did you know approx $26 billion of goods travel through our commercial ports in Victoria every year.

On Anzac Day, we will remember them.

This Anzac long weekend combined with the easing of Covid restrictions is a good time to remind yourself of the basic safety rules if you're on or around Victoria's commercial ports and waterways.

Are you interested in helping to restore a tall ship? The Alma Doepel is calling for volunteers

Ever wondered what it would be like to work on Australia's oldest wooden tall ship? We are currently seeking volunteers to assist us in her restoration! 😀

Skills and duties include:
- Painting
- Carpentry
- Trades - plumbing, electrician, boilermaker, marine engineer
- General labouring
- Practical/handy people

Join our friendly team at the Shed for a minimum of one day per month. Learn from our great team of dedicated volunteers and experience the warm fuzzy feeling of contributing this worthwhile community project 👍

If you're spending time on the water this Easter, remember you are not the only one out there and you're sharing the water with other vessels.

You should always .

On July 1 2021, Ports Victoria was created by the merging of Victorian Ports Corporation (Melbourne) and Victorian Regional Channels Authority (VRCA).

Based in the former VRCA Geelong office, the two organisations have been brought together to lead the strategic management and operation of Victorian commercial ports and waterways.

VRCA and VPCM to become Ports Victoria - Victorian Regional Channels Authority From 1 July 2021, Victorian Regional Channels Authority and Victorian Ports Corporation (Melbourne) will be brought together to read more…