Port Kembla | NSW Ports
Contact Us Public access

Locations

Port Kembla

The Port of growth for New South Wales

Port Kembla is an international trade gateway for bulk agricultural, construction and mining industries. It is New South Wales’ largest motor vehicle import hub and home to the state's largest grain export terminal and second largest coal export port.

Port Kembla has been approved by the NSW Government as the site of the state's next container terminal once Port Botany nears capacity. Its proximity and access to Sydney's west and south west means Port Kembla is well positioned to handle the expected growth in freight volumes.

100% NSW motor vehicle imports
Supports 10,000 jobs
Contributes $2.9B to NSW Gross State Product every year
Operates 24/7

Capabilities

Port Kembla

Proximity to Sydney’s growing population and employment lands: Port Kembla is 90 kilometres south of Port Botany, 67 kilometres to south-west Sydney and 100 kilometres to Western Sydney. 

Port Kembla

Operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and has capacity to handle new trades and increased volumes of existing trades.

Port Kembla

Efficient road and rail connections to Greater Sydney, the Illawarra and regional NSW. 

Port Kembla

Approved by the NSW Government as New South Wales’ next container port once Port Botany nears capacity.

Port Kembla

Capable of handling large cargo vessels.

Port Kembla

Excellent supply of well-connected nearby industrial land to support key trades and port-related activities.

Port Kembla

Deep water shipping channel and berths that require minimal maintenance dredging. 

port-kembla

Short shipping channel that minimises vessel transit time and contributes to port efficiency.

Map

** insert map **

Facilities

Port Kembla operates 24/7 across two precincts, the Inner Harbour and the Outer Harbour.

The Car Import & General Cargo Terminals (Inner Harbour)

The Car Import & General Cargo Terminals (Inner Harbour)

Australian Amalgamated Terminals (AAT) manage four berths (103, 105, 106 and 107) within two terminals in Port Kembla's Inner Harbour. The main terminal is designed as a multi-purpose facility, equipped to manage the large volume of motor vehicles and general cargo moving through the port. The facility can also cater for containers.

Features: 

  • A purpose-built berth which can accommodate Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo) vessels of up to 270 metres length overall.
  • A high capacity fully land backed ramp pad that will accept most heavy and oversize project cargo.
  • A continuous berth length of 510 metres allows the berthing of two car carriers simultaneously.
  • The single berth facility can accommodate vessels up to 225 metres length overall.
The Grain Terminals (Inner Harbour)

The Grain Terminals (Inner Harbour)

Port Kembla is home to the state's largest grain export terminal. The port has two grain facilities located in the Inner Harbour, including storage and handling capability for bulk grain exports.

Features: 

  • Graincorp operates the Port Kembla Grain Terminal adjacent to Berth 104, a common user berth operated by NSW Ports.
  • Quattro Ports operates the bulk grain handling facility adjacent to Berth 103.
  • Both facilities have the capability to receive and dispatch products by ship, rail and road and export a variety of grains from the New South Wales market.
Bulk Liquids and Gas Facilities

Bulk Liquids Facilities (Inner and Outer Harbour)

NSW Ports owns and operates two dedicated bulk liquids berths located in Port Kembla's Outer Harbour.

Features: 

  • 2 bulk liquid berths – berths 201, 206 which are common user berths handling refined fuels and chemicals including, ethanol and sulphuric acid gas imports
  • Direct pipeline access from berth 201, to nearby storage facility
  • Additional bulk liquid facility, adjacent to berth 104 in the Inner Harbour. This facility is operated by GrainCorp and handles a range of liquid products including chemicals and oils.
The Coal Terminal (Inner Harbour)

The Coal Terminal (Inner Harbour)

Port Kembla is the second largest coal export port in New South Wales. Port Kembla Coal Terminal (PKCT) services the state's Southern and Western coalfields and is a key coal exporting facility on Australia's east coast. 

Features: 

  • The coal terminal operates two berths with road and rail receival facilities.
  • Berth 102 is the main exporting coal terminal with an available berth length of 300 metres.
  • Capesize vessels of 300 metres length overall load by gantry ship loaders.
The Dry Bulk & Break Bulk Facilities (Outer Harbour)

The Dry Bulk & Break Bulk Facilities (Outer Harbour)

Port Kembla Gateway operates four berths in the Outer Harbour (202, 203, 204 and 205). A common user facility, it is primarily used for bulk and break bulk cargoes. This includes copper concentrate, fertiliser, clinker, pulp/saw logs and steel products.

Features: 

  • The berths are constructed of timber and there is an available berth length of 360 metres with a varying depth alongside.
  • There is also extensive undercover storage capacity at the facility.

Sustainability

Sustainability is integral not only to our business, but to the long-term success of the supply chain industries.

We recognise that along with delivering value for our shareholders, we need to make a positive contribution to the communities in which we operate, protect the environment and act in an ethical and transparent manner.

Community

NSW Ports is committed to working in partnership with the communities living in and around Port Kembla:

  • 99% of the Port Kembla workforce live locally
  • We support a range of community initiatives in the local area including the delivery of local school programs, sponsorship of surf-life saving initiatives
  • We manage and maintain delivery of community & public access areas including: the Eastern Breakwall and Port Kembla Heritage Park:
    • The Eastern Breakwater: open to the public between the hours of dawn and dusk, except in adverse weather conditions and during certain port operations and maintenance activities. Sign up for community notifications here. 
    • Port Kembla Heritage Park: located adjacent to the port, the Heritage Park has a rich history of Aboriginal culture, military facilities and port operations and offers views over the Five Islands to the east and the harbour, industry and the escarpment to the west.
  • We engage with the wider Port Kembla community through the Port Kembla Heritage and Environment Group and provide regular updates through our community news and notifications

Learn more about our approach to community engagement
Sign up for Port Kembla community news and notifications

Environment

We are committed to supporting and maintaining the natural environment values of Port Kembla and to actively conserve ecological and cultural heritage values for the benefit of current and future generations. The port of Port Kembla is situated within Port Kembla Harbour and is surrounded by a variety of environmental and social features including Tom Thumb Lagoon and Gurangaty Waterway. 

This includes: 

  • Working in tandem with our tenants to manage the environment responsibly and to manage emissions impacts to air quality from bulk cargo handling
  • Supporting improvements to stormwater and water quality in Port Kembla's Inner Harbour through treatment measures
  • Conservation and maintenance of habitat for the Green and Golden Bell Frog
  • Active maintenance of locally significant heritage items including the Mobile Block Setting Steam Crane, Historical Military Museum, Breakwater Battery and Concrete Tank Barriers 

Read more about environmental management, biodiversity and biosecurity
Learn more about how we maintain Heritage items across our sites

Project Compliance

NSW Ports is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Conditions of Approval for a number of Major Projects. At Port Kembla this is:

  • Port Kembla Outer Harbour Development

These conditions set out requirements for the environmental management of the construction and operation of the facility and for ongoing community engagement. We maintain an activity dialogue with regulators and local residents to ensure management practices are in line with legal requirements and community expectations.

Port Kembla Outer Harbour Development

History

After coal was mined at Mount Kembla in 1865, the Mount Kembla Coal and Oil Co. built a private jetty at a site known as Red Point.
The company also added a rail link to their expanded mine at Mount Kembla. The first shipment of coal from the port was on the SS Arawata on 27 February 1883. In 1890, the Southern Coal Company also built a jetty at the site, linking it by rail to the State Rail system.
Because of its association and proximity to the Mount Kembla mine, in 1892, the area officially became known as Port Kembla. The name “Kembla” is an Aboriginal word meaning “plenty [of] wild fowl.”
Significant development occurred in the area throughout the 1880s and 1890s, including construction of buildings, a hotel, a school and coal storage infrastructure.
In 1885, a decision was made to develop Port Kembla as the deep water port for the southern coalfields, instead of the smaller Wollongong Harbour.
Three years later, on 23 December 1889, the Port Kembla Harbour Act was passed.
It allowed for the construction of two breakwaters to protect the many ships now visiting the port. In 1900, work on the eastern breakwater commenced. The northern breakwater followed eight years later.
A low level jetty, known as No. 4 jetty, was built in 1908 and used for general cargo loading and unloading.
Twenty years later Hoskins' Iron & Steel built No. 2 jetty on land leased south of No. 1 jetty. No. 2 jetty was used continuously until the opening of the Inner Harbour made it redundant.
With the event of the Hoskins Steelworks in the late 1920's the growth of Port Kembla harbour was assured.
The following decades also saw a huge increase in shipping traffic. This led to State Government approval for a second harbour at Port Kembla to cope with the extra demand for docking and loading space. Construction and dredging commenced in the 1950s and the Inner Harbour opened on 28 November 1960.
In addition to the working port, NSW Ports is responsible for managing the community land around it, including the Port Kembla Heritage Park.
 
 
 

You might also be interested in

Community

Sustainability

Community

Learn more
Our Commitment

Sustainability

Environment

Learn more
Rail

Major Initiatives

Growth in Rail

Learn more