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Port Celebrates Record Cruise Season
The Port of Townsville is celebrating a record cruise season that saw 23 cruise ships carrying more than 27,000 passengers and 13,000 crew visit Townsville. The last cruise ship for the 2025/26 season, Vista, visited Townsville today (Tuesday, 14 April) with about 1,200 passengers on board. Port of Townsville Chief Executive Officer Ranee Crosby said the record season reflected increasing demand to experience the Townsville region. “We work incredibly hard with our cruise partners in Townsville and within the cruise sector to make the seasons the best they can be, offering a welcome dose of energy to the city’s vibrant tourism sector,” Ms Crosby said. “It’s exciting to see cruise ship companies visit Townsville for the first time, with the Port and cruise liners celebrating many maiden voyages this season. “We also had the pleasure of welcoming several residential cruise ships, where residents on board were able to enjoy the city and region for a number of days.” Ms Crosby said the cruise ship season usually ran from November to April, but next year’s season had been extended, with cruise ships booked to dock in June and July in 2027. Member for Townsville Adam Baillie said the growing cruise trade was delivering solid benefits for the local community. “Townsville continues to cement our reputation as the tourism and events capital of the North,” Mr Baillie said. “Cruise ships are now becoming a reliable part of Townsville’s local economy, supporting cafes, shops and tourism operators as our city continues to evolve in the lead up to the 2032 Games.” Townsville Enterprise Director of Visitor Economy Lisa Woolfe said the region’s cruise sector continued to go from strength to strength. “It’s fantastic to see Townsville’s cruise industry continuing to grow and break records,” Ms Woolfe said. “These visits deliver a significant boost to our local economy, particularly during the traditional off-peak season, providing greater year-round certainty for tourism operators. “We’re welcoming passengers from all corners of the globe, and what’s most exciting is their genuine sense of surprise and delight when they experience our region - from the Great Barrier Reef and World Heritage rainforests to rich Indigenous culture, unique wildlife and iconic locations like The Strand, just minutes from port. “We’ve worked hard to not only increase ship and passenger numbers, but to enhance the depth of experiences on offer to these passengers. Giving cruise passengers more experience options means they are doing more and dispersing across the region like never before - ensuring the economic benefits are felt more broadly.” Cruise tourism provides a major boost to the local economy with each passenger spending about $200 a day exploring the region. The 2026/27 cruise season will begin in November 2026, with the first cruise ship, Riviera, due to dock on Saturday, 7 November 2026.
Port of Townsville Ready for Project Pipeline
The Port of Townsville is well positioned to support North Queensland’s future industry development with the recent completion of a new 14-hectare dedicated Project Cargo Laydown Area and road and intersection upgrades. The newly constructed area will put Townsville on the map and ensure global connectivity for the region by improving the Port’s capacity and capabilities to facilitate large-scale project cargo, to support the major pipeline of planned project investment across the region. Port of Townsville General Manager of Operations, Projects, and Safety David McLoughlin said the completion of the multi-million-dollar project marked a significant milestone for both the Port and the North and North West Queensland regions. “Ports play a central role in enabling regional development. This investment ensures we can continue to support the major projects that drive jobs and economic growth across the region,” Mr McLoughlin said. “By expanding our project cargo handling capacity, we’re contributing to new trade and investment opportunities across Northern Australia. “This critical piece of infrastructure will help facilitate the region’s planned investments including renewable energy, advanced manufacturing and critical minerals.” Principle contractor Mendi Constructions Contractors Representative, Chris MacDonald said the multi-million-dollar project was a key milestone for Mendi. “This has been an important project for us to be a part of given its strategic importance for the development of both Port of Townsville and the broader North Queensland region,” Mr MacDonald said. “It places both a national and international spotlight on all stakeholders involved, including Doyle Group. “At Mendi, we pride ourselves on being adaptive and diverse with a general approach of taking on projects that challenge and improve our collective skillset. “The diverse scope and complexity of this project, which was delivered with a 90 per cent local workforce, demonstrates Mendi Constructions’ ability to deliver complex infrastructure while highlighting its ongoing commitment to developing, promoting and growing local talent.” The dedicated laydown area and transport network upgrades were designed to accommodate oversized and heavy project cargo, including wind turbine blades of up to 100 metres long. The project involved extensive civil works, pavement construction and drainage upgrades to ensure the Port’s facilities can safely manage high volumes of heavy project cargo. This capability will enable the efficient import, storage and transportation of project cargo from ship to site.