Queensland Government News

A Marshall Islands-flagged tanker helped rescue two people from the water after their boat sank in the Torres Strait.At about 7:15 a.m. AEST on Thursday, a coastal pilot on board the tanker Godam contacted Townsville Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) to report a sighting of two people clinging to a timber plank in the water.The location for the sighting was about 10 kilometers southeast of Sue Islet, Warraber Reef. Conditions were rough with two to three meter swells with around 30…

Australia's Gladstone Ports Corporation (GPC) is continuing to progress its renewable energy initiatives, with a tidal turbine deployed at its Barney Point Terminal in Gladstone.It is part of a six month trial aimed at demonstrating how tidal flows at the Port of Gladstone can be harnessed to produce electricity, according to a press release from the Queensland's largest multi-commodity port and the fifth largest multi-commodity port in Australia.GPC has partnered with MAKO Turbines Pty Ltd for the demonstration, which is the first of its kind in Australian tropical waters using port infrastructure.Member for Gladstone Glenn Butcher said it is an exciting day to see the turbine in action at one of Queensland’s largest trading ports.“GPC may be best known for facilitating trade, but this is

The proven RockFLEET global tracking and messaging system, manufactured by UK-based Iridium satcom specialist Rock Seven, has been selected as one of four approved devices in a mandated scheme to install a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) to all commercial fishing boats in Queensland, Australia.Under the terms of the scheme, all commercial fishing and charter boats will require a vessel tracking device to be fitted and operational by 2020. Net, crab and line boats, meanwhile, will need to have a VMS in place from January 1, 2019.

A two-day Biofutures Industry Forum hosted by the Queensland government and U.S. Navy at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre commenced today in Brisbane, Australia. The forum will bring together biofutures industry leaders from each step in the supply chain to collaborate and discuss the production of biofuels that meet both jet and marine specifications; all while forming and strengthening professional relationships between the nations. "The Navy has always been in the energy-innovation business- from wind to coal, coal to oil, and now alternative fuels," said Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy for Management, Tom Hicks. Hicks was joined by the Queensland Premier…

The Australian and Queensland Governments are investing $45 million in an Australian first to improve water quality and reduce sediment run-off across the Great Barrier Reef. The $45 million Great Barrier Reef Gully and Streambank Joint Program will deliver a cohesive program of restoration work in key catchments including Burdekin, Fitzroy and Cape York. The joint program between government, the private sector, research institutions and conservations groups includes scientific investigation to understand the nature of gullies and the restorative activities required to fix them. Other work will include physical remediation, mulching, revegetation, fencing, native grass seed production and grazing land management improvements.

A unit of India's Adani Enterprises Ltd will buy the company that operates Australia's Abbot Point Coal Terminal from Glencore Plc for A$19.25 million dollars ($14.52 million), ending a legal wrangle over control of the port. The statement from Adani and Glencore said Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone would purchase the port operator, Abbot Point BulkCoal Pty Ltd, pending regulatory approvals. Adani Enterprises, India's biggest private sector coal trader, acquired the Abbot Point Coal Terminal port from the Queensland government in 2011, considering it a key part of its plan to ship coal from Australia to India and for other exports.

The Government of Australia has cleared project proposals to expand a port for two coal projects of both Adani Enterprises and GVK Hancock opposed by green groups. The Labor government in Queensland will allow mining companies Adani and GVK to dredge in Great Barrier Reef waters to expand a coal port but will make them pay for it themselves. "The Queensland Government is restarting the approvals process for expanding the Abbot Point coal terminal in north Queensland in a bid to keep dredge spoil away from both the Great Barrier Reef and nearby wetlands," says an official statement. The government’s deal with the miners on Abbot Point…

Australia's Queensland government has backed away from controversial plans to allow a cruise ship terminal to be built on state-owned land on the Gold Coast, according to the 'Brisbane Times'. Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney announced on Tuesday that in response to community concerns, vacant land at Doug Jennings Park and parts of the Southport Spit would not be made available to Chinese property company ASF Consortium as part of its application for an integrated development licence. The company plans to build a mega-resort on the Broadwater, which would include a casino and cruise ship terminal. However, Brisbane Times reports that Mr Seeney said ASF Consortium has updated its concept plan to relocate the cruise ship terminal from The Spit to Wave Break Island.

BMT WBM (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, is delighted to announce that it has won the bid to provide a Comprehensive Hydraulic Assessment as part of the Brisbane River Catchment Flood Study (BRCFS) for the Queensland Government. Given the significant logistical challenges and technical complexities, BMT has tailored a bespoke and innovative, industry leading approach underpinned by international best practice. The project forms part of a broader framework of the Brisbane River Catchment Floodplain Studies currently being undertaken by the Queensland Government in response to the Queensland Flood Commission of Inquiry to provide a comprehensive plan to manage the Brisbane flood risk.

The Queensland Ports Strategy to protect the Great Barrier Reef, grow jobs and sustainably develop the state's port network was released yesterday. According to Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jeff Seeney, the strategy outlines 18 actions that will provide a rigorous, systematic approach to balance economic development with protection of the environment. Central to the strategy is the establishment of five Priority Port Development Areas for the ports of Townsville, Abbot Point, Hay Point and Mackay, Gladstone and Brisbane. For the next decade, the Queensland Government will prohibit dredging within or adjoining the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area for the development of new…

Today’s announcement by the Queensland Government on Adani’s Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Project  recommending the environmental approval is a significant step towards opening up the Galilee Basin and providing extensive economic benefits to the people of Queensland. As numerous government strategies have underlined, development of the Galilee Basin is vital to Queensland and Australia’s economic growth. “We welcome the decision of the Queensland Government and this allows us to move to the next stage of the project, ensuring that local and regional communities continue to be involved in the development of our projects and share the economic benefits.” Adani Group Chairman, Gautam Adani said.

Ezion wins a third contract to provide full logistics & support services for development of LNG facilities on Curtis Island, Queensland, Australia. This LNG facility which is the third of the eight proposed in Queensland, Australia, has an initial capacity of 9 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) and expected to increase production to 16 Mtpa. The Queensland government has estimated that 50 Mtpa of LNG could be produced from the Surat and Bowen Basins in Queensland that could be piped to the coast for export. This contract is the fourth major LNG related project that the Group has secured in Australia since 2009 and it has a value of approximately US$ 71-million. The US$ 71 million is in relation to the development of the first two LNG trains.

Aluminum Boats Australia’s (ABA) latest vessel, for Chinese Owners, was launched at a ceremony at the shipyard on Thursday 23 September. The vessel was named Carrie by Miss Madeline Whitewood, daughter of ABA’s Roy and Karen Whitewood. Also present for the traditional breaking of a champagne bottle on the bow of the vessel was Pan Hengli, Vice President, Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Ltd, the Hon. Paul Lucas, Queensland Deputy Premier and Queensland government’s Special Trade Representative to China, the Hon. Steve Bredhauer.

Aluminium Boats Australia (ABA) announced that General Manager Stuart Pascoe won the Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Leaders of Innovation 2010 award. Selected for his individual ability to enable innovation and create commercial value, Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman announced Stuart as winner of the award for the product innovation category. In 2009 Aluminium Boats Australia delivered the first of its Eco Jet waterbus catamarans to Transit Systems for operation around the south Moreton Bay islands. Eco Jet concept that ABA is now building its fifth vessel for the customer.

According to ABC News the Queensland Government says a decision to base a commercial cruise ship in Brisbane will provide a big boost to the tourism industry. The P&O vessel set sail from her new berth today - on the first of up to 35 scheduled trip for 2006. Premier Peter Beattie says the cruise industry is already worth around $100,000 a year to the Queensland economy. Mr Beattie says with terminals being built in Brisbane, Townsville and the Gold Coast, the lucrative sector will grow.