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CTAA has welcomed the announcement from the Port of Melbourne that a contract has been awarded for the expansion of Webb Dock East to accommodate the berthing at Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) of two larger container ships (greater than 300m in length) at the same time. This will help to reduce vessel berthing congestion at VICT.
The project involves demolishing a redundant section of concrete and extending the quay line by 71 metres. The contract for the works has been awarded by the Port of Melbourne to Fitzgerald Constructions Australia, with completion scheduled for Q3, CY2023.
To complement investment by the Port of Melbourne, VICT has also announced that it is committing $150m in infrastructure to support the market with faster vessel turn around and additional landside slots.
VICT CEO, Tim Vancampen has said "The $150m (in this phase) out of a total new investment of $235m by VICT will include two additional Ship to Shore Cranes (STS), six Auto Container Carriers (ACC) and six Auto Stacking Cranes (ASC), bringing the total STS cranes to seven. The additional infrastructure is expected to be operational in Q3 CY2023."
The Port of Melbourne Media Release can be downloaded: HERE
A Channel 7 News story on the investment can be viewed: HERE
CTAA Engagement with VICT on Landside Interface:
CTAA has engaged regularly with senior management at VICT on improvements to landside operations at Webb Dock East.
As VICT has grown to represent over one third of landside container logistics movements in the Port of Melbourne, demand for import & export vehicle booking system (VBS) slots has increased significantly.
One immediate change that CTAA has asked VICT to consider is to amend the timing of their VBS slot allocations from a midnight slot drop to a more convenient time frame each morning. This would also allow for vessel availability and export receival statuses to be updated prior to the VBS slot drop.
The stress & fatigue applied to container transport fleet allocators to be online at midnight each night to try to book VBS slots are immense, as well as to subsequently monitor the slot exchange for additional slot availability.
Along with the welcome major investments in terminal equipment and technology, VICT needs to continue to work with landside transport providers to improve the landside customer "experience". Regards,
Neil Chambers, Director
Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA) |