A lack of fuel at the Port of
Brisbane has forced cruise ships
to delay departure or alter
routes to refuel by barge.
PASSENGERS on the Queen Mary 2 were left
waiting until 2am to depart Sydney last week,
and P&O’s Pacific Dawn was diverted to
Gladstone, allegedly due to “refuelling issues”
in Brisbane.
Speaking to Cruise Weekly onboard the
QM2, Commodore Christopher Rynd claimed
that Brisbane had “run out of fuel”, requiring
alternative plans to be made in Sydney.
Refuelling commenced at Garden Island at
10am but the barge had to make two trips to
carry the enormous amount of fuel required
for Cunard’s flagship – the largest cruise vessel
to ever visit Australia and currently making its
inaugural circumnavigation of the country.
The 16-hour procedure held up the liner’s
scheduled midnight departure on Valentine’s
Day, with many passengers missing the chance
to witness the “sail-away”.
On 10 February, Pacific Dawn was also
affected by a fuel shortage in Brisbane.
After skipping Port Vila (Vanuatu) to avoid a
cyclone, the ship was turned away from Brisbane
and instead headed toward Gladstone.
Dawn anchored at Tannum Sands to be
refuelled by barge, and the ship returned late
into Brisbane.
A spokeswoman for Carnival Australia said:
“Fuel is one of the infrastructure challenges
we face in Australia, with only five ports
offering the ability for cruise ships to refuel.
“Unfortunately, circumstances meant that
Brisbane’s two fuel supply companies did not
have supplies of the required fuel during the
past fortnight.”
A spokesperson for BP was aware of only the
incident involving Dawn, which he said,
“turned up ‘on spec’ at very short notice,
which was not part of their contract.”
Caltex did not respond before deadline.
