The Port Capacity Project, 1

Representatives from the Port of Melbourne Corporation are available to speak with people about the Port Capacity Project throughout June.  The Port is intensifying and expanding Port operations at Webb Dock.  I recommend you attend one of the sessions to ask questions about the matters that concern or interest you. The first session is on Saturday 9 June, between 10 & 11.30 at the London Hotel - and there are several more opportunities. You can book directly on line. You can also comment via on line forums on noise, trucks and transport and buffers. It is a very significant project and it is important that Port Melbourne people take the opportunities offered to find out more about it. There is a link to the Port Capacity Project website in the links section of Port Focus.

Stothert & Pitt Crane reassembly and relocation

image courtesy of Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society, used with permission

The Port of Melbourne Corporation has applied to Heritage Victoria for a permit to place the former Stothert & Pitt cranes on the finger pier at Station Pier. All the documents relevant to the permit application are available on the Heritage Victoria website. According to the submission 'On 6 March 1996, Heritage Victoria issued Permit No 2662 for works to the deck at Station Pier and as part of those works permitted the removal of the two Stothert & Pitt Cranes which were located at the southern end of the pier. Condition 2 of the permit required that the PoMC seek funding for the repair, restoration and reinstatment of the cranes on the pier ...' There is an interesting photo of the cranes, installed around 1950, on p7 of the submission. Since the cranes cannot be put back in their original location, the alternative location on the finger pier is proposed. The documents are available for inspection at Heritage Victoria at 55 Collins St.
The Public Records Office blog shows an interesting picture of one of the cranes  under construction - interesting since they are about to be reconstructed. Click here to have a look.

Working Port

The San Francisco has been undergoing engine repairs while berthed at Station Pier. Generally when ships carry their own cranes, it indicates that they visit ports, such as some of our South Pacific neighbours, which don't have extensive on wharf or on land based crane facilities. They can be called 'feeder' ships in the sense that they take goods from a large Port like the Port of Melbourne and 'feed' them to smaller ports. [thanks to the Port of Melbourne Corporation for this information]

The Port invite you to 'see the Port of Melbourne from a new angle'

Have you taken one of the Port of Melbourne Corporation's boat tours? People I have spoken to have been very positive about their experience. I've been a few times and especially enjoy seeing Port Melbourne from the water. With the Port of Melbourne our neighbour at Webb Dock and in our midst at Station Pier, its helpful to get a better understanding of how the port works. So many of the things on which we rely such as fridges, TVs, trams and coffee have made their way from the port into our homes. All attendees must pre-register. Book online at www.portofmelbourne.com/community/tours.asp or call 9683 1565. Tours depart Saturday 24 March and Sunday 25 March at set departure times from Docklands. More details from the contacts provided above. Update: all the tours for 2012 are booked out

Counting the comings and goings at Waterfront Place

Traffic counts were commissioned around the Port Melbourne Waterfront yesterday by the Port of Melbourne Corporation. People in hi viz vests were on every corner with clipboards in hand. The purpose of the counts is to understand in great detail the number and nature of traffic movements in the precinct. It was a good day for it - hot weather always brings many other visitors to the precinct - in cars and on foot. By late [very hot] afternoon when I passed, this traffic counter at the exit from the TT Lines carpark had melted. The findings of this study will be highly relevant to the draft Port Melbourne Urban Design Framework and ongoing work between the PoMC and the City of Port Phillip to minimise the impact of shipping related traffic on the surrounding community.

Waterfront Place, Station Pier

A new electronic noticeboard has appeared at the entrance to Waterfront Place. Currently it is showing the cruise ship schedule. It is part of the plan to improve the operation of Waterfront Place in the short and longer term. Station Pier is managed by the Port of Melbourne Corporation.

Meet up with the Port of Melbourne Corporation next week

This annual catch up with our neighbours, the Port of Melbourne Corporation, is on again next Thursday at Life Saving Victoria Headquarters. PoMC staff will be there to share information on Port projects and programs. If you would like to talk about Station Pier and cruise shipping, it is especially important to RSVP to ensure that all interested people have an opportunity to join a breakout session. RSVP to community@portofmelbourne.com or phone Lauren on 1300 857 662. Thursday 27 October: 6.30 to 8.30 pm: Life Saving Victoria Headquarters, 200 The Boulevard [cnr Todd Rd]

Port in the paper

Port - the place for a village?
'Professor Miles Lewis said many elements of Melbourne's history were "incredibly confusing, including the false rumours about the vollage site". Professor Lewis said a redrawn version of Batman's map indicated the famous description by Batman of a good "place for a village" referred to the south bank of the Yarra River, in what is now the Port Melbourne area.' [Jason Dowling Age, Wednesday 3 August 2011 p9]
'Port of Hastings is the future, but Webb Dock needs an upgrade now'
A piece by Mark Stone, [CEO of the Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry] re-asserting the Port of Melbourne's need for additional capacity in the short term since the Port of Hastings is at best 10 to 15 years off. [Mark Stone, Business Age Wednesday 3 August 2011 p15]

Why is Beluga Projects at Station Pier day after day?

I have been puzzled by the presence of Beluga Projects at Station Pier and asked people who knows about shipping if they could tell me more. And they did: 'Beluga Fantastic is a general cargo ship flagged in Antigua and Barbuda and built at Jiangdong in '07. At Yarraville 11 to 15 March discharging 11,000 mt of sugar from Mackay for CSR. She is owned, operated and managed by Beluga Shippping of Germany and this is a one off voyage for CSR. After completion of discharge she was arrested.' [taken from World Ship Society, Victorian Branch, April newsletter] And why? "German project carrier Beluga today filed for insolvency protection for its core operating division Beluga Chartering after talks with its tonnage providers and banks failed. More than 40 multipurpose and box ships have been withdrawn ... The companies lost patience with Beluga's investor Oaktree Captial Management - which seized control of the project shipping group at the end of Febuary. The US investor had called for far reaching concessions on charter arrears and period rates. For the insolvency of its operating unit, Beluga/Oaktree blamed "substantial irregularities concerning turnover and liquidity." The investor, which is believed to have put up to 175M Euros in debt and equity into Beluga since the middle of last year ...., filed charges against Beluga founder Niels Stolberg and other top management. The prosecution service in Brmeen is investigating allegations of fraud and false statements. Beluga's survival as an operator in the project/heavy-lift trades is in serious doubt, although any formal decision to abandon the bsiness is now up to an administrator who has not been named yet. Oaktree and other stakeholders are still in talks over continuing other business divisions, which would also include ship management. Reproduced courtesy Lloyds Fairplay 17 March 2011 http://www.fairplay.co.uk

Two cruise ships in

The Silver Shadow and the Diamond Princess berthed at Station Pier today. Many tourists walking round Port Melbourne.
The Silver Shadow is part of a fleet of 'Silver' vessels. She carries 383 guests and 302 crew.
For the full cruise ships schedule click here.

Port of Melbourne meets Port Melbourne

You are invited to catch up with staff from the Port of Melbourne Corporation at a meeting to be held at the Life Saving Victoria Headquarters next Tuesday 5 October - a week from today.

This is an opportunity to speak with representatives from the Port about all matters port related.

To see the magnificent image on/[and] the invitation, click here

The Life Saving Headquarters are at 200 The Boulevard, at the end of Todd Rd.

The cruise ship season starts today

The Dawn Princess is lying at Station Pier. The Port of Melbourne Corporation has issued an updated cruise ship schedule which you can access here. They recommend that you check the schedule as it is subject to change

The Port of Melbourne Corporation manages Station Pier and the logistics of cruise shipping.

Expected cruise ship visits to Station Pier

The cruise ship season begins this Sunday 26 September with the arrival of the Dawn Princess [eta 8 am]

You can find the cruise ship schedule here.

I keep a copy on the fridge so I can check what ship is in town and when.

Good planning controls make good neighbours

An Advisory Committee is currently hearing submissions on the Port Environs Planning Framework.
The Committee is reviewing the planning controls for the ports of Melbourne, Hastings, Geelong, and Portland to determine whether they adequately protect the ongoing operation of those ports. Click here to read all the information about the work of the Committee and for the discussion paper on the Port Environs Framework.
You can read the excellent submissions made by community groups Beacon Cove Neighbourhood Association, Port People and PorttoPort here

The Council, in its submission, seeks [among many other things]

• to minimise the impacts of port growth and related freight transport corridors on the local environment and on local communities
• implementation of an efficient road and rail freight network, which reduces the dependence on road frieght, addresses road congestion, and redirects freight traffic away from residential areas

The Council will present its submission on Friday. The hearings are open to the public and are at Planning Panels Victoria, 8 Nicholson St, East Melbourne [on the route 96]

This picture is outside the port boundary, but the operation of these port related services impact on our local community.

Fencing goes in at Perce White Reserve

Significant fencing is being put in place at Perce White Reserve to protect the regionally significant grasses that are found there.

This Reserve is on Port of Melbourne Corporation land managed by the City of Port Phillip. A recently adopted plan for the Reserve includes new pathways through the Reserve.

Investment in improvements to Station Pier continues

A further $1.812m was allocated in last week's State budget for ongoing improvement and maintenance work at Station Pier.

The estimated expenditure to 30 June 2010 is $4.451m.

Total estimated investment in Station Pier totals $10.713m.

source: http://www.budget.vic.gov.au

Buses and boat tours

Just in case you didn't see this week's Leader, there were two items of interest - about buses and the Port of Melbourne.
Buses
'VicRoads is proposing changes on City Road to improve bus reliability and travel times. The changes proposed are to introduce part-time bus lanes and clearways that operate from 6.30 am - 10 am, Monday to Friday, inbound on two sections of City Road where buses commonly experience delays in the morning peak:

City Road (inbound) between Boundary Road and Montague St and between Clarendon Street and Queens Bridge Street'

Feedback is open to 8 April 2010 via busprojects@roads.vic.gov.au


Port of Melbourne
The Port of Melbourne is inviting residents in port-side communities an opportunity to learn about the port during two guided boat tours on Saturday 20 February and Sunday 27 February.

Numbers are strictly limited and you must register by email to community@portofmelbourne.com or by ringing 1300 857 662

I have done this tour many times and never tire of seeing Port Melbourne from the water.

Future growth of the Port of Melbourne at Webb Dock

In response to concern about the future of the Port of Melbourne at Webb Dock, the council passed the following motion at the meeting last night:



'that Council support the issues and outcomes reflected in the City of Port Phillip's preliminary submission (December 2009) to the Minister for Planning's Advisory Committee, established pursuant to section 151 of the Planning and Environment Act to consider the planning framework for Port of Melbourne land and buffer areas including:

• a review of the full range of likely impacts from the proposed port development and a clear statement of the environmental and amenity standards to be met
• inclusion of specific controls in the Port of Melbourne Planning Scheme which ensure the construction of an effective buffer consisting of well designed landscape and built acoustic buffer treatments
• a commitment from the state government that the construction of Dockside Road will occur at a nominated and agreed point in the Port's expansion and
• a commitment from the State Government that an investigation of the feasibility of the Webb Dock rail will be undertaken as soon as possible and reported to the public.

Advise of its intent to expand/elaborate on these matters following Council's consideration and community input on the Advisory Committee's discussion papers programmed for release by mid 2010.'

Snippet and reminder about Council meeting

The Council meets in Port Melbourne on Monday 8 February in the council chamber at the Town Hall at 6 pm.

I met a friend in Bay St who told me the last time he attended a council meeting was when Fennell was a councillor and the councillors had pigs trotters for dinner!

Melville Henry Fennell was mayor in 1947 to 1948, elected in 1937 retired in 1974.

Port Melbourne items that may be of interest include the appointment of members to the Port Melbourne Urban Design Framework Community Reference Committee, and I intend to move a Notice of Motion in relation to Webb Dock.

More on the prospective third stevedore

Given the significance of the imminent decision to introduce a third stevedore into Melbourne for the Port Melbourne community, I am reproducing in full the article that appeared in The Age 19 January 2009
"$25m claim from new port
A DECISION by the Victorian Government to fast forward plans to introduce a third stevedore into Melbourne will be met with a compensation claim of at least $25 million from the stevedore most affected by the decision: Asciano.
An official announcement for the $1 billion extension of Webb Dock east at Port Melbourne was scheduled for this week. But a few outstanding issues are now expected to delay the controversial announcement until the end of the month.
The news of a third stevedore comes two weeks after Asciano lost a car carrier contract in Melbourne with logistics giant Wallenius Wilhelmsen.
The big question is, why has the Victorian Government decided to take the decision now, when it had originally planned to increase capacity by spending $100 million upgrading the Swanson Dock facility, before forking out $1 billion to extend Webb Dock after 2017.
What makes the decision interesting is there is currently no rail link to Webb Dock, so all movements from a new Webb Dock container port would be by road. This is not a vote-winner for a government facing an election this year, given that such a move could add up to hundreds of thousands of truck-trips on the roads of Williamstown and Port Melbourne.
Not surprisingly, the communities at Williamstown and Port Melbourne will lobby against the proposed redevelopment. But the fiercest lobbyist will be Asciano, which stands to lose its duopoly as well as a lucrative business, which includes moving 200,000 cars a year, steel for Bluescope Steel, and break bulk cargo.
But the Government has to stand by its decision. Most contracts are won on a national basis and so the best outcome for competition, and potentially lower prices, would be a third player operating out of the three main ports.
If it reneges, it will make it a lot harder for the third operator in Sydney and Brisbane to survive in the longer term."
Source: The Age