Safety improvements for Trawler Wharf

Published on 30 July 2024

Boom gates will be installed on the Portland Trawler Wharf to improve workplace and public safety.

Glenelg Shire Council manages the wharf on behalf of the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP), which owns the facility, and has received funding from the DTP for the safety improvements.

Wharf users have reported an increase in members of the public entering sectioned off areas of the wharf whilst commercial fishing activities are being undertaken.

Implementing physical separation will assist in mitigating these risks – in particular the installation of boom gates at the start of the wharf for use in times of heightened risk activities.

These activities could include major vessel maintenance, mobile crane movements, loading or unloading into semi-trailers, net repair work, wire repair work, bunkering or forklift movements.

Closure of the boom gates may occur two or three times a week, for a period of 2-3 hours per closure.

Local Port of Portland Bay staff will control the closure of the boom gates. Only wharf operators, approved contractors and Local Port staff will be permitted to enter the wharf area once the boom gates are in the closed position.

A timeline for the installation of the boom gates is yet to be confirmed, but it is expected to be later this year.

Council has also received Marine and Coastal Act consent for the project from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.