The largest fuel tanker to enter Port of Newcastle in 220 years of commercial operations arrived on March 18. The 244-metre Pro Alliance long range 2 (LR2) class tanker berthed at Stolthaven’s Mayfield 7 dedicated bulk liquids terminal, which is a purpose-built facility serving vessels of that size. This new milestone comes after the arrival of the port’s first long range 1 (LR1) tanker in early January.
The ability to receive ships of this size was made possible with a four-year collaborative project between Stolthaven, Port of Newcastle, Port Authority of NSW and Svitzer to enhance channel capacity and welcome deep-draft inbound tankers up to 245 metres LOA.
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The project partners pledged to increase the Port’s capacity by a number of activities, such as detailed channel simulation investigations, adding active escort tug capability to the port’s fleet and the development of a dynamic under-keel clearance system (DUKC) for deep draft inbound ships to add the current outbound DUKC system.
Port of Newcastle Executive Manager Marine and Operations Keith Wilks
We are proud to have facilitated the arrival of Pro Alliance at Stolthaven’s bulk liquids terminal at Port of Newcastle this morning. In our 220th year of commercial shipping, milestones such as this signify the evolving role of the port in facilitating global trade through our harbour and driving growth in the regional, state and national economies
In addition, as Stolthaven’s Managing Director Gordon Lasker informed, the company has made significant investment in its fuel terminal facility in order to enable greater efficiencies in the bulk liquids supply chain from Newcastle. He added that the arrival of the first LR2 tanker realises a long-term investment in the dedicated bulk liquids precinct at Mayfield 7 berth.
Stolthaven Australia has been operating a dedicated bulk liquids precinct at Port of Newcastle since December 2013. The facility has a berthing capability of LR2 245m LOA (length overall). Another 10 hectares are currently under development and will deliver an expected capacity build of 450,000 cubic meters of bulk fuels and chemicals storage.
