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Darwin Ship Lift

The Darwin Ship Lift facility will service the needs of the general maritime sector within the Asia Pacific region and long term needs to of defence sector.

Project

The Northern Territory Government is delivering the ship lift to establish Darwin as a thriving maritime services industry hub.

The ship lift will establish Darwin as a key maritime maintenance centre in northern Australia and servicing South East Asia, and will capitalise on the Territory’s strategic position in the Asia Pacific region.

The ship lift will be capable of lifting vessels up to 5,500 tonnes, enabling vessels in the defence, energy, pearling, fishing and coastal cruising industries to be serviced in Darwin.

The ship lift will be a Northern Territory Government-owned facility that will provide wet and dry berths for vessels wash down, blasting, painting and general maintenance facilities on a common user basis.

The project will deliver:

  • a ship lift 26 metres wide, 103 metres long and, with a vessel lifting capability of 5,500 tonnes
  • wet berths to allow vessels to undertake in-water maintenance
  • hard stand areas for ship repair and maintenance works
  • self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT) units that transport the ships around the facility once they are out of the water
  • an administration building, SPMT shed and Blast and Paint Facility
  • East Arm utilities upgrades to support the ship lift and broader marine industry park development.

The ship lift is funded by $215 million from the Northern Territory Government and a concessional loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility of up to $300 million.

Final environmental approvals have been obtained through the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA). Read the NT EPA assessment report on Darwin Ship Lift and Marine Industries Project | NTEPA

Key stakeholders have been involved in design, navigation simulations and planning for early works for the ship lift facility, including Department of Defence, Port of Darwin and Paspaley as the facility operator.

Clough-BMD Joint Venture has been awarded the head contract to build the ship lift facility at the East Arm site. Read the dredging and erosion and sediment control management plans:

The project is anticipated to employ 250 workers at the peak of construction and an average of 100 workers on site generally and will generate and maintain hundreds of local jobs in the maritime support sector when completed.

The ship lift is a common user facility that will operate on a commercial basis. There will be a legislated open access regime to ensure fair and equal use for all customers. Pricing and access will be overseen by the independent Utilities Commission.

It is anticipated that several components of the ship lift facility will be completed in early 2025 and the balance of work completed in 2025–26.