| | | | | COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER | APRIL 2022 | | | | | | | 
| It is with great pride that I open this newsletter by advising that the Port of Townsville has again been named the "Australian Port or Terminal of the Year" at the Australian Shipping & Maritime Industry Awards.
This is the third time we have taken out the award – the last time being two consecutive years in 2015 and 2016.
The award reflects the remarkable work undertaken by our Port team in partnership with our customers and communities across the North. We are grateful for the feedback, engagement and support we receive from our extended Port team and we know that achievements like this would not be possible without your input. Thank you.
Our Port's success is also driven by our ambition to be Australia's Port for the Future. This is a vision as we put plans into action.
Channel widening is officially underway. It is wonderful to see the community taking renewed interest in the project now that the dredge is visible in Cleveland Bay - we hear the Sailing Club has embraced the challenge of a dynamic new obstacle with its weekly sailing reports detailing the various strategies of sailing teams as they observe the Exclusion Zone.
We have recently welcomed tour groups back to the Port, we are continuing to partner with key groups on some important Planet initiatives and we are currently taking submissions for our second annual Community Fund.
I hope you will enjoy reading about all these initiatives and more in this issue.
All the best,
Ranee Crosby
Chief Executive Officer | | | | | | | | | 
| | Our $232 million Channel Upgrade project has reached a major milestone with the largest Australian owned backhoe dredge, Woomera, now dredging in Cleveland Bay.
If you're on the bay, you're sure to spot Woomera loading the material dredged from the channel on to support barges. The barges are bringing the material back to the Port for placement in our 62ha reclamation area at the mouth of Ross River.
Woomera will work 24/7 (weather permitting) over the next two years to dredge more than 3 million cubic metres of material from Townsville's 14.9km channel. This will see our channel widened from 92m to 180m at the inshore (Port) end, tapering to 120m at the seaward end.
When the work is done, the ships of the future will be able to safely access the Port, instead of by-passing Townsville.
As part of the project, we have invested $17 million in environmental monitoring and management programs including those covering water quality, dolphins, turtles, corals, seagrass and shorebirds.
The Regional Harbour Master has declared a Marine Restricted area around the dredge and mariners are advised to stay at least 100 metres away from the dredge and barges. | | | 
| | | | | | | | | | | No Butts!
More than 10,000 cigarette butts have been diverted from Townsville's waterways in a single year thanks to a network of defences in our city's storm water drains.
No - it's not the Ninja Turtles. It's our trusty litter traps!
Since 2020 the Townsville Local Marine Advisory Committee, of which the Port is a member, has installed 30 litter traps around town. We have installed another 30 on Port land. Four audits over 12 months, found the traps have prevented 1,238kg of litter from flowing into our waterways, including more than 10,000 cigarette butts and almost 4,000 pieces of plastic wrapping.
Our team recently supported the litter traps by conducting a quick 'emu parade' along some of the Port's waterfront locations for Clean Up Australia Day. We sent teams to litter hotspots at the Coast Guard carpark, Ross Creek along Palmer Street and the beach at the mouth of Ross River. Together, they collected nine bags of rubbish weighing 20kg! | | | | | | | | | | Community Fund Deadline Extended!
You now have a little extra time to submit an application for this year's $50,000 Community Fund, with an extension until 24 April 2022.
Our Port Community Fund seeks to support a broad range of local initiatives that provide benefits to the planet, community, people and prosperity across North Queensland.
The Townsville Sailing Club was among our inaugural recipients in 2021. The Club used their funding to purchase a new Mobi-mat, which has improved beach access for their 200+ members as well as other recreational water users including paddle-boarders, dragon boaters, kayakers, kite boarders and the general public.
If your school, community group or charity has a project that could do with some help, we encourage you to apply before 24 April.
Learn more about our Community Fund here. | | | | | | | | | Our troops return from Tonga
ADF personnel took their first steps on Aussie soil in almost two months after providing humanitarian aid to our Pacific neighbours in Tonga.
HMAS Canberra and three CH-47 Chinook helicopters arrived in Townsville in March after a mission to assist the island nation which was devastated by a volcano and tsunami in January.
More than 370 tonnes of equipment, supplies and humanitarian assistance were delivered during Operation Tonga Assist 2022. | | | | | | | | | Around the world in... 8 years!!
Danish traveller Thor Pedersen arrived at our Port recently as part of his ambitious - and almost complete - quest to visit every country in the world without flying. Thor arrived aboard regular Port visitor, Suva Chief, after an unplanned, two-year layover in Hong Kong due to the pandemic. He began his quest from Denmark in 2013 and has seven more countries to visit before returning home.
Read more about Thor's journey here. | | | | | | | | | Book a Port Tour for your group
Port Tours are back for 2022!
A group of Year 12 Engineering students from the The Cathedral School were the first school group to climb the crane during their recent visit. The group will now design and build their own crane prototypes based on what they learned.
To book your own custom tour, click here. | | | | | | | | | | | | Captain Hugh celebrates 50 years at sea
One of our Marine Pilots, Captain Hugh Ripley has celebrated his 50th year at sea – 23 of those navigating thousands of ships through the channel at the Port of Townsville.
In his seagoing career, Hugh has travelled more than 50,000 nautical miles or the equivalent of circumnavigating the globe, twice.
Hugh started as a cadet Deck Officer in the New Zealand Merchant Navy and after 15 years went on to become a ship's Master on vessels including cargo, bulk carriers and cruise ships.
Despite climbing lengthy ships' ladders in all weather at Townsville, Abbot Point and Lucinda, Hugh loves his job, saying "It's the nearest thing to paradise". | | | | | | | | | | | The Prime Minister drops in
Prime Minister Scott Morrison stopped at the Port to announce the Federal Government would commit $5.4bn to construct the Hells Gates Dam, subject to completion of the business case.
The dam could open up 60,000ha of irrigation across three agricultural zones in the Burdekin, create more than 7,000 jobs and inject approximately $1.3bn into the region.
Mr Morrison chose our Port as the location for his announcement to emphasise the wide-reaching impact of the dam's construction.
"The agriculture that is going to be produced is going to come to this port, it's going to go out on ships and in seven days it will be in Singapore," Mr Morrison said. | | | | | | | | | | | We're Hiring
We're on the look out for passionate, dedicated people to join our team.
To see our latest vacancies and to apply, visit our website. | | | | | | | | | |