Ports North
{{Short description|Queensland Government company managing sea ports in Far North Quensland}}
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{{Infobox government agency
| name = Ports North
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| type = Statutory corporation
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| image = Port of Cairns in Trinity Inlet, 2025.webp
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| image_caption = Port of Cairns in Trinity Inlet with the marina in the foreground, 2025
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| preceding1 = Cairns Port Authority
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| jurisdiction = The State of Queensland
| headquarters = Cairns, Queensland
| coordinates = {{coord|-16.9265844|145.7784339|format=dms|notes={{Google maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ports+North/@-16.9265394,145.7756542,16.75z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x6978669484e7239d:0xedc1aeb67407e1cc!8m2!3d-16.9265844!4d145.7784339?hl=en|title=Ports North |access-date=25 March 2020}}|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|name=Ports North office}}
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| parent_agency = Far North Queensland Ports Corporation Limited
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| website = {{URL|https://www.portsnorth.com.au/}}
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Ports North, the trading name of the Far North Queensland Ports Corporation Limited, is a Queensland Government statutory corporation that is responsible for the Cairns Marlin Marina and the Cairns Cityport project and the ports in Cairns, Cape Flattery, Karumba, Mourilyan, Skardon River, Quintell Beach, Thursday Island, {{QLDcity|Burketown}} and {{QLDcity|Cooktown}}, in Queensland, Australia.{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.portsnorth.com.au/about-us/ |publisher=Ports North |accessdate=25 March 2020}} Since 2023, the shareholding Ministers are the Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Transport and Main Roads.
History
Formerly known as the Cairns Port Authority, the corporation was responsible for the operation of the Cairns International Airport until the sale of the airport in December 2008 to a private consortium. The former authority was responsible for the Cairns Seaport and in 2009 became responsible for the regional ports of Mourilyan, Cooktown, Cape Flattery, Quintell Beach, Thursday Island, Skardon River, Karumba and Burketown.
Cairns Seaport
The Cairns Seaport is located on Trinity Inlet. It handles cargo and passenger vessels. The port is an important contributor to the city’s tourism economy due to the large number of international and domestic cruise ships that use the port.{{Cite web |title=Cairns |url=https://www.portsnorth.com.au/cairns/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250419150034/https://www.portsnorth.com.au/cairns/ |archive-date=19 April 2025 |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=Ports North |language=en |url-status=live }}
Passenger vessels berth at Trinity Wharf at the northern end of the port. The southern end of the port, the main cargo area, handles 1.16 million tonnes of cargo yearly. Bulk cargoes include sugar and molasses (exports) and fertiliser, petroleum and LPG (imports). The port plays an important role in providing supplies to coastal communities on the Cape York Peninsula, Torres Strait and the Gulf of Carpentaria.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
Cairns Marlin Marina
The Cairns Marlin Marina is located at the entrance to Trinity Inlet near 'The Pier' Shopping Centre ({{Coord|-16.9193|145.7817|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|name=Cairns Marlin Marina}}). It contains 261 berths and can accommodate vessels up to 140 metres in length. Many private yachts and catamarans are based at the marina, as well as a significant number of commercial tourism operators who provide tours to the Great Barrier Reef.{{Cite web |title=Cairns Marlin Marina |url=https://www.portsnorth.com.au/cairns-marlin-marina/ |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=Ports North |language=en |archive-date=10 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310050608/https://www.portsnorth.com.au/cairns-marlin-marina/ |url-status=live }}
Cityport
Cityport is an urban renewal development occurring at the southern end of the Cairns CBD adjacent to the seaport and centred on Trinity Wharf.{{Cite web |title=Cityport development |url=https://www.portsnorth.com.au/ports-north-projects/cityport/ |access-date=28 June 2025 |website=Ports North}}
Skardon River Port at Mapoon
File:Aerial view, Port of Skardon River, 2015.jpg
The port at Skardon River in Mapoon in the Shire of Cook was declared in February 2002. It has a barge ramp and is used for the export of bauxite.{{Cite web |title=Port of Skardon River |url=https://www.portsnorth.com.au/skardon-river/ |access-date=28 June 2025 |website=Ports North}} It is approximately {{Convert|10|km}} upstream from the mouth of the Skardon River into the Gulf of Carpentaria ({{Coord|-11.7580|142.0707|name=Port of Skardon River}}).{{cite web |title=Layers: Locality; Ports; Marinas and wharf areas |url=https://qldglobe.information.qld.gov.au/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219175447/https://qldglobe.information.qld.gov.au/ |archive-date=19 December 2017 |access-date=1 July 2025 |website=Queensland Globe |publisher=Queensland Government }}{{Cite QPN|31053|Skardon River|watercourse in the Shire of Cook|access-date=28 June 2025}}{{Cite Google Maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/11%C2%B045'28.8%22S+142%C2%B004'14.5%22E/@-11.7582524,142.0640091,1846m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d-11.758!4d142.0707?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDYyMy4yIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D|access-date=28 June 2025|title=Port of Skardon River}}
Quintell Beach Port at Lockhart River
The port at Quintell Beach is approximately {{Convert|2|km}} SSE of the town of Lockhart River in the Aboriginal Shire of Lockhart River. It has a barge facility from the beach into the Coral Sea ({{Coord|-12.7947|143.3600|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|name=Quintell Beach Port}}). It serves the Lockhart River community and nearby pastoral stations.{{Cite web |title=Quintell Beach |url=https://www.portsnorth.com.au/quintell-beach/ |access-date=2025-06-29 |website=Ports North |language=en}}
Thursday Island Port
File:Thursday Island, 2025.jpg
Ports North operates two wharf areas in the Torres Strait ({{Coord|-10.589|142.233|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|name=Thursday Island Port}}), one on Thursday Island and the other on nearby Horn Island (which also has an airport), both in the Shire of Torres. These islands serve as transport hubs to other islands in the Torres Strait.{{Cite web |title=Thursday Island |url=https://www.portsnorth.com.au/thursday-island/ |access-date=2025-06-29 |website=Ports North |language=en |archive-date=30 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250430072336/https://www.portsnorth.com.au/thursday-island/ |url-status=live }}
Burketown Port
The port at Burketown in the Shire of Burke is around the mouth of the Albert River where it enters the Gulf of Carpentaria ({{Coord|-17.5670|139.7596|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|name=Burketown Port}}). Although declared as a port area, no commercial shipping takes place.{{Cite web |title=Port of Burketown |url=https://www.portsnorth.com.au/burketown/ |access-date=29 June 2025 |website=Ports North |archive-date=30 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250430075857/https://www.portsnorth.com.au/burketown/ |url-status=live }}
Karumba Port
The port at Karumba in the Shire of Carpentaria is around the mouth of the Norman River where it enters the Gulf of Carpentaria ({{Coord|-17.482|140.8368|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|name=Port of Karumba}}). Most of the wharves are located in the Norman River at the town of Karumba. The port is used for the export of minerals, seafood,and cattle and for the import of goods needed by local communities, including those on Mornington Island.{{Cite web |title=Port of Karumba |url=https://www.portsnorth.com.au/karumba/ |access-date=1 July 2025 |website=Ports North |archive-date=30 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250430075255/https://www.portsnorth.com.au/karumba/ |url-status=live }}
Cape Flattery Port
The port at Cape Flattery is in Lizard (an offshore locality) within the Shire of Cook, immediately offshore from Hope Vale in the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale ({{Coord|-14.9865|145.3547|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|name=Cape Flattery Port}}). It is on the Coral Sea off the east coast of the Cape York Peninsula, approx {{Convert|55|km}} north of Cooktown. It has a {{Convert|500|m|adj=on}} jetty with conveyor belt to load ships with silica sand from the Cape Flattery mine. It has a second wharf for import of fuel and other supplies needed by the mine.{{Cite web |title=Port of Cape Flattery |url=https://www.portsnorth.com.au/cape-flattery/ |access-date=1 July 2025 |website=Ports North}}
Cooktown Port
The port at Cooktown is around the mouth of the Endeavour River into the Coral Sea in the Shire of Cook, offshore from the town of Cooktown ({{Coord|-15.4593|145.2499|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|name=Port of Cooktown}}).{{cite web |title=Layers: Locality; Ports; Marinas and wharf areas |url=https://qldglobe.information.qld.gov.au/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219175447/https://qldglobe.information.qld.gov.au/ |archive-date=19 December 2017 |access-date=1 July 2025 |website=Queensland Globe |publisher=Queensland Government}} It mostly services cruise ships and tourist vessels.{{Cite web |title=Cooktown |url=https://www.portsnorth.com.au/cooktown/ |access-date=2025-07-01 |website=Ports North |language=en |archive-date=25 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250525051039/https://www.portsnorth.com.au/cooktown/ |url-status=live }}
Mourilyan Port
File:Mourilyan Harbour port facilities, 2023.jpg
The port of Mourilyan is around the mouth of the Moresby River into the Coral Sea in the locality of Mourilyan Harbour in the Cassowary Coast Region ({{Coord|-17.5998|146.1245|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|name=Mourilyan Port}}). The port exports raw sugar and molasses, iron ore, and livestock.{{Cite web |title=Mourilyan |url=https://www.portsnorth.com.au/mourilyan/ |access-date=2025-07-01 |website=Ports North |language=en |archive-date=19 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250419150714/https://www.portsnorth.com.au/mourilyan/ |url-status=live }}
See also
{{stack|{{portal|Queensland|Government}}}}
Notes
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References
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20050615180643/http://www.cairnsport.com.au/seaport/default.htm (CPA website Seaport Overview)]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20050615183058/http://www.cairnsport.com.au/marina/default.htm (CPA website Marlin Marina Overview)]
External links
- {{official website|https://www.portsnorth.com.au/}}