Passengers arriving at Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal on cruise ships will find themselves disembarking in two shifts, if a plan to host two ships a day takes off.
The latest bid to increase the capacity of Australia’s most popular port will see vessels arriving in the early hours and leaving at lunchtime, with another taking its place and setting sail in the evening.
The first test of the rapid turnaround is expected in the New Year, when two mega ships from different companies are considering trialling the port’s ability to disembark and re-embark some 5,000 passengers in just a day.
At present, ships arrive at dawn, and generally leave around 5pm.
While the Port Authority would not name the vessels considering the trial until a final decision has been taken, Sydney Harbour Master Philip Holliday said they were home ported and sailing on short cruises.
Mr Holliday said the port had been trying to convince cruise lines to try double berthing for some time, as the industry wrestles with increasing demand and finite capacity.
Neither of the vessels involved in the potential trial could get under the bridge to use White Bay, and itinerary changes now made double berthing a real possibility.
“We’ve been talking with cruise lines to come up with ways to increase capacity using the existing infrastructure”.
The challenge, he said, was in getting passengers, luggage and waste off, cleaning and making up cabins, restocking kitchens and refuelling engines and loading passengers and luggage back on – all in a very few hours.
But he pointed out when Ovation of the Seas arrives in Sydney, the Overseas Passenger Terminal would be taking care of almost 5,000 passengers every time she docked.
Are they serious, what about tourism. Surely they will not consider doing this when Sydney is part of a cruise destination.
Max Moffitt
Yes absolutely agree but more alarming is the thought of the rush to turn around luggage, imagine mistakes could be made and you find your luggage has gone onto the wrong ship!! I can’t believe the port and all the people involved with the cruise lines turn around, including suppliers, freight, waste disposal and so many others are made to have to jump through hoops to make this ridiculous proposition work while the useless government boffins sit in their offices turning a blind eye to the need of building another Cruise Terminal for Sydney to meet the growing demand for the popularity of Australia’s cruise industry. Where the idea has been tossed around for Garden Island and now seemed discarded, the next best place in my mind is Rushcutters Bay! Move all the small craft to another location in the harbour and build it there!
If that’s what we have to do, that’s what we will do. It could work, but will require the coordination of many shoreside workers and meticulous planning both on board and within the terminal.
If something doesn’t happen, Sydney runs the real risk of losing to other Eastern seaboard ports that CAN handle the bigger cruise ships, or perhaps Australia losing the cruise lines business altogether?
Last time I sailed from Sydney, I was hard pressed to see any Navy activity at Garden Island – definitely no ship movement. Pity the RAN won’t share.
The NSW Government receives a lot of revenue from cruise ships. Maybe they should spend some of that to build better facilities.
For people who live interstate and rural NSW there will be an added cost of an expensive Sydney hotel room if lumbered with the early embarkation..
I know many ships dock before dawn anyway but surely one of the great drawcards of Sydney for foreign and Australian passengers is sailing into Sydney Harbour – when you can see something.