Port of Newcastle's harbour cranes have swung into action to help unload parts for two new Sydney wharves due to Port Botany's inability to handle the cargo.
The first shipment of pontoon components, to be used in the construction of ferry wharves at La Perouse and Kurnell, arrived from China last week.
The components were unloaded at the Mayfield 4 berth before being transported to Sydney on a barge.
"As a container port, Port Botany doesn't have capability to handle project or general cargo," Port of Newcastle's senior manager, terminals and logistics, Wayne Mabbott said.
"One of the great things about Newcastle is that we can handle oversized and project cargo through our Mayfield facility."
The cranes, which have an outreach of 54 metres, and a lifting capacity of 104 tonnes, have been operating at the port since September 2022.
The $32.4-million crane investment has allowed the port to significantly increase its cargo and container handling capabilities as part of a broader diversification strategy.
In addition to Neptune shipping lines' monthly visits to the port, the cranes have also been used to unload renewable energy components and related infrastructure.
"We use them a couple of times in a row over a two or three week period and then we won't have a use for them for a couple of weeks. There's also a regular container service that uses them every month."
"Interest (in the facility) is growing because freight forwarders, exporters and importers know we have the capability to handle project cargo. We also have a good lay-down area with good access to rail and road infrastructure."
The NSW Parliament passed legislation in November 2022 to try to resolve a long-running dispute over whether the privatisation of the Newcastle, Botany and Kembla ports had imposed unfair restrictions on Port of Newcastle's ambition to develop a large container terminal.
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal is assessing how much Port of Newcastle must pay the government in one-off compensation to extinguish controversial container handling fees imposed on the port during its privatisation in 2014.
The port announced earlier this month that it was cutting 22 jobs following a significant downturn in trade volumes and revenue last year.
The value of trade at the port dropped by $23 billion, or 32 per cent last year, primarily due to a fall in the price of coal.
