The Port of Townsville’ grab dredger is moving ahead with the sand removal operations from the Ross River channel which was deposited by the February 2019 flood.
According to their latest release, the removal of 10,000 cubic meters of sand will improve safety for the multitude of private, commercial, research and military vessels that use the Ross River for access to and from Cleveland Bay.
The port is required to keep a safe shipping channel and harbor to provide an efficient port which services the North Queensland community, maintaining appropriate depths so that commercial vessels (such as ferries, barges and fishing vessels) and private boats can continue to access Ross Creek, Ross River and the Marine Precinct.
Maintenance dredging is usually undertaken once a year for around 4-5 weeks, depending on the amount of sediment building up in the channel and harbor.
The Port of Townsville is currently linked to national shipping routes by a 14 kilometer long and 92 meter wide channel in Cleveland Bay.
This channel is maintained to a depth of 11.7 meters to enable ships up to 238 meters to safely enter the Port. To keep the channel open to shipping, the Port of Townsville has been carrying out maintenance dredging since 1883.