New cranes to lift Queensland dockyard capability

THE QUEENSLAND government has allocated $4.5 million from the state’s Sovereign Industry Development Fund for the acquisition of two large cranes for the revitalised Cairncross Dockyard in Brisbane.

The investment through the flagship $180.6 million Fund will see 1,200-tonne and 400-tonne cranes equip the facility with the heavy-lift capability needed to undertake large-scale defence and commercial vessel maintenance, repair and sustainment activities in Queensland, the government says.

This will support delivery of the broader $2.5 billion Cairncross Dockyard project, which the Government has declared a prescribed project to help streamline approvals and support the re-establishment of a major graving dock on the Brisbane River for maritime maintenance.

The Cairncross Dockyard on Brisbane’s southside was established in 1942 during World War II and has Australia’s second-largest graving dock (behind Cockatoo Island, Sydney) capable of accommodating ships up to 85,000 DWT. The dock was closed in 2014 and the land proposed for redevelopment as housing or other use.

However, it was later acquired by Cairncross Dockyard Brisbane, a subsidiary of Texas Tea Queensland, and in December last year the government declared the site’s revitalisation a prescribed project, clearing the way for faster approvals.

The government says once operational, the broader Cairncross Dockyard project will create more than 1,000 direct jobs and support thousands more across manufacturing, logistics and supply chains.

This expansion is expected to strengthen Queensland's sovereign maritime sustainment capability and reduce reliance on interstate and overseas shipyards.

Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jarrod Bleijie said the investment was arming and strengthening Queensland's sovereign maritime capability

“Queensland has an important role to play in supporting Australia's defence capability, and this funding will help strengthen that by enabling more ship repair, maintenance and sustainment work to be undertaken right here in Queensland,” Mr Bleijie said.

“The Crisafulli government has already backed the broader Cairncross Dockyard project through the prescribed project declaration, and this investment is another step towards reactivating the dockyard as a major ship repair and sustainment facility.

“We're backing investment-ready projects that support industry growth, jobs and sovereign capability while positioning Queensland as a leading location for defence and maritime industry development.”

Cairncross Dockyard managing director Ben Quin said the funding would help progress the reactivation of the dockyard.

“This investment is an important step towards bringing large-scale ship repair and sustainment work back to Queensland,” Mr Quin said.

“The installation of a 1,200-tonne crane will provide the heavy-lift capability needed to operate the new lift-in/lift-out (LILO) dock gate for the graving dock and will also provide the capacity to lift vessels up to 600T from the graving dock pool to support commercial and defence maritime operations.

“The 400-tonne support crane will be used to establish the 1,200-tonne crane on site and support dockyard construction and quayside operations.

“Support through the Sovereign Industry Development Fund will help accelerate the project and move us closer to our vision of re-establishing Cairncross Dockyard as a world-class ship repair and sustainment hub for Queensland.”