Port of Broome Channel Improvement (Stage 1)
BMT coordinated and provided a range of technical services that enabled progression of this project through state planning and funding gates and through to tender.
BMT coordinated and provided a range of technical services that enabled progression of this project through state planning and funding gates and through to tender.
In recognition of the access constraints and the growing tourism industry in Broome, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Tourism Western Australia and KPA have contributed funds to optimise the channel to allow passage of larger vessels. Specifically for the Port of Broome, port accessibility has been a limiting factor for cruise ships, due to navigational hazards associated with shoals and a narrow channel into the Port.
The objectives of this Stage 1 Channel improvement study are to provide an efficient channel improvement design that will cater to large cruise ships, to define the dredging requirements and to provide advice on the stage 2 project plan and costs.
The principal feature of the conceptual design was that the port has a high tidal range in the order of 10 m and the cut scoured in the approaches had very high tidal velocities in ebb and flood tides filling and emptying the large bay beyond the port. Control of the large cruise vessels is therefore challenging, and the design had to ensure that navigation width and depth was available in a highly variable high current tidal environment in an innovative channel design to optimise cost.
Through engagement with the Port, BMT coordinated and provided a range of technical services that enabled progression of this project through state planning and funding gates and through to tender. These services ranged from comprehensive site investigations and environmental assessments to detailed design review of the revised channel.
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