Port Darwin is the port in
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin ( ; Larrakia: ) is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With an estimated population of 147,255 as of 2019, the city contains the majority of the residents of the sparsely populated Northern Territory.
It is the smalle ...
, in northern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. The port has operated in a number of locations, including Stokes Hill Wharf, Cullen Bay and East Arm Wharf. In 2015, a 99-year lease was granted to the Chinese-owned
Landbridge Group, a transaction that has since ignited significant national security concerns.
Locations
Stokes Hill Wharf
Stokes Hill Wharf is the main wharf for the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia and is named after Stokes Hill, which it sits beside. The hill itself was named after the previous commander of HMS ''Beagle'', Captain Pringle St ...
operated as the main location of Port Darwin, and has had three wharves.
East Arm Wharf, opened in 2000.
Panamax
Panamax and New Panamax (or Neopanamax) are terms for the size limits for ships travelling through the Panama Canal. The limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in a publication titled "Vessel Requirements". ...
sized ships of a maximum length of 274 metres and a
DWT of up to 80,000
tonne
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
s are able to use the location.
Privatisation
Following the 2012 election of the
Country Liberal party, the Territory sought to raise funds for unspecified purposes through the sale of public assets, including the
Territory Insurance Office
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international relations, international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extr ...
and Darwin Port.
In order to accomplish the latter, the Territory made a request for expressions of interest in late 2014 and early 2015, resulting in thirty-three companies signalling their interest.
In October 2015, the Chinese-owned Landbridge Group won the bid for a lease of Port Darwin. The then
Country Liberal-controlled Northern Territory Government under then Chief Minister
Adam Giles
Adam Graham Giles (born 10 April 1973) is an Australian former politician and former Chief Minister of the Northern Territory (2013–2016) as well as the former leader of the Country Liberal Party (CLP) in the unicameral Northern Territory Par ...
granted the company a 99-year lease for A$506 million. The contract price is more than 25 times the profit the port had earned over the preceding two years, and Landbridge also promised to invest A$200 million over a 25-year period.
Shandong Landbridge Group is a privately held company with headquarters in the city of
Rizhao
Rizhao (), alternatively romanized as Jihchao, is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Shandong province, China. It is situated on the coastline along the Yellow Sea, and features a major seaport. It borders Qingdao to the northeast, Weifang t ...
,
Shandong Province
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizatio ...
, China, which is owned by Ye Cheng, a billionaire with close ties to the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
.
[
The details of the unsuccessful bids were not disclosed, with the government citing commercial-in-confidence reasons, but sources conflicted over the nature of these bids. Some sources stated that the bid from the Landbridge group was the highest by a significant margin, while others stated that two bids, one from a European company and the second from an Australian were comparable. ]
Security concerns
Concerns have been expressed over this leasing arrangement due its strategic significance as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or B&R), formerly known as One Belt One Road ( zh, link=no, 一带一路) or OBOR for short, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 150 ...
. Concerns have also been expressed over the proximity of the port to a base where United States Marines
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...
are stationed on a rotational basis and to the Darwin International Airport
Darwin International Airport is the busiest airport serving the Northern Territory and the tenth busiest airport in Australia. It is the only airport serving Darwin.
The airport is located in Darwin's northern suburbs, from Darwin city ...
, which is used jointly for military and civilian purposes.[
In June 2019, development of a port at Glyde Point, 40 kilometres north of Port Darwin, to be utilised by both military and commercial interests, was suggested as a 'counterbalance' by Federal ]Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
MP and chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) is a joint committee of the Parliament of Australia which oversees Australia's primary agencies of the Australian Intelligence Community: Australian Security Intelligence Organi ...
Andrew Hastie
Andrew William Hastie (born 30 September 1982) is an Australian politician and former military officer currently serving as the Shadow Minister, shadow minister for defence. He previously served as the Minister for Defence (Australia), Assistan ...
.
In August 2019, a proposal was launched by Federal Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
MP Nick Champion
Nicholas David Champion (born 27 February 1972) is an Australian politician. He is a member of the South Australian Labor Party and has served in the South Australian House of Assembly since the 2022 South Australian state election, representi ...
to re-nationalise the port, thereby ending Chinese control.
See also
*List of ports in Australia
This is a list of ports in Australia. It includes all gazetted ports, harbours, havens, roadsteads and marinas.
This list is complete with respect to the 1996 Gazetteer of Australia.Gazetteer of Australia (1996). Belconnen, ACT: Australian Surv ...
*Port of Newcastle
The Port of Newcastle is a major seaport in the city of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It is the world's largest coal port.
It is made up of facilities located at Port Hunter - Yohaaba in the Hunter River estuary. The port was the fir ...
, another port with a 99-year lease with a Chinese control.
*Naval Base Darwin
file:Darwin Harbour (AWM 027334).jpg, Darwin Harbour with the sunken ship MV Neptuna and burnt-out wharf of Darwin Harbour following the attack on February 19, 1942
file:USS Holland (AS-3) with seven submarines alongside at San Diego, Californi ...
References
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Darwin, Northern Territory
Ports and harbours of the Northern Territory
Ports and harbours of the Indian Ocean
Timor Sea
Transport in the Northern Territory