Read on for the 2022 end-of-year update from NSW Ports CEO, Marika Calfas:
As the end of year approaches, I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas and holiday season and provide some updates on recent port activities.
Ports are the beating heart of our economy and a barometer of the ways we live, work and play. As an island nation, they are our gateways to the world, with 98% of Australia’s trade volume being moved by sea. Without ports, and their connected supply chains, we would struggle to meet our everyday needs.
New long-term Master Plan under development – have your say
Port Botany and Port Kembla contribute more than $13 billion annually to the NSW economy and support 65,000 jobs. Ports are significant, long-term infrastructure. They form part of an interconnected supply chain network – shipping, road and rail – which must all function effectively for trade to efficiently move.
Long-term planning is, therefore, required to continue to ensure sustainable supply chains to service the growing population and business needs of NSW and our nation.
NSW Ports is reviewing and updating our 2015 Master Plan. The new Master Plan (2023-2063) will take a 40-year look at the needs of our ports.
As we plot our future path, we are asking stakeholders across the industry and community for their input.
Industry partners, port users, tenants and customers can provide their input by completing an online survey on our website – by clicking here.
We will be seeking similar feedback from community representatives and residents around our sites early in 2023.
Sustainability Strategy and Sustainability Report
Sustainability is essential not only to our business but to the success of the industries and communities with which we work. NSW Ports’ new Sustainability Strategy, released in September, champions decarbonisation, resilience, sustainable growth and our ongoing support for communities.
Notably, we have committed to a net zero Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions target by 2025 and are on our way to achieving this. Our FY22 Sustainability Report, which measures our performance against such targets, will be released soon.
NSW Ports’ significant environmental achievements were recognised in October with the awarding of Silver Partner Status by Sustainability Advantage, an initiative of the NSW Government.
Trade growth and trends
The gradual easing of Covid-19 restrictions here and around the world has resulted in welcome improvements in supply chains and global shipping schedule reliability.
This year saw aviation fuel import volumes grow with the resumption of international air travel and an increase in unleaded fuel imports, as commuter travel returned. Motor vehicle imports at Port Kembla, which handles all the State’s motor vehicle trade, grew by 10% – despite lingering vehicle supply chain issues.
At the same time, Australians continued to spend on the home front, with ongoing growth in imports of whitegoods and computer monitors.
The increase in imports of building materials in 2022 reflected both the strong construction market and the need to rebuild flood-damaged areas across eastern Australia.
Regional grain producers have had another strong year of exports, despite the impacts of flooding and related rail disruptions. We will continue to advocate for further investments in rail connectivity to improve rail's capability and resilience to support these exports.
There were many notable cargo arrivals during the year.
Port Kembla saw the arrival of two large transformers, which will help connect more solar and wind generation into the power grid, and a 372-tonne gas turbine (the heaviest piece of cargo to arrive at the port) that will power Australia’s first dual-fuel natural gas/hydrogen power plant.
Port Botany was also the destination for a ship carrying Australia’s largest firefighting helicopter, which was assembled on site before being launched from the dock. It was certainly a spectacular sight to see the chopper lifting off from Patrick Terminals – as captured in the video below.
This year the 11,000 TEU-capacity CMA CGM Estelle sailed into Port Botany and the record books as the largest capacity container vessel to visit Australia.
Throughout the year everyone in the port and logistics industry has worked tirelessly, yet again, to ensure supply chains continue to run smoothly, in service of the people, businesses and industries of NSW.
On behalf of NSW Ports, we wish you a safe, healthy and happy holiday season. We look forward to continuing to work with you in 2023.