Port services & facilities

Port facilities

The Port of Melbourne has 34 commercial berths at five docks, river wharves, Gellibrand Pier at Williamstown and Station Pier at Port Melbourne.

The berths service two modern, purpose-built international container terminals as well as multi-purpose berths that handle cargoes ranging from timber to motor vehicles and specialised berths for dry cargoes including cement, grain, sugar, fly ash and gypsum, plus dedicated facilities for a variety of liquids, from molasses to crude oil and petrochemicals, using the latest handling methods.

The berths at Station Pier service the Bass Strait passenger ferry, cruise shipping and visiting naval vessels

Private terminal operators operate the main freight facilities. Common user facilities for general cargo are operated by Port of Melbourne Corporation (PoMC).

Find details about the port facilities and berths in the Customer Handbook and application forms for use of the facilities on the Port facilities page.

Channel services

The Port of Melbourne shipping channels, managed and maintained by PoMC, provide safe and efficient access to the port. PoMC’s General Manager Marine & Navigation Services is the licensed Harbour Master for the Port of Melbourne. Channel services include:

  • 24-hour commercial shipping control service.
  • A one-stop shop coordination point for the ordering of pilot services, tugs, lines boats and lines men via the PortVIEW website.
  • Hydrographical surveys of the port waters.
  • Planning and supervision of contracts for all maintenance dredging of commercial shipping channels and berths.
  • Planning and supervision of contracts for provision and maintenance of all navigation aids for commercial shipping.
  • First-response port emergency coordination, including oil pollution.
  • Strategic planning for the future needs of commercial shipping.

Geelong channels
Channel services in Geelong port waters are managed by the channel operator, the Victorian Regional Channels Authority (VRCA).

Hastings and Portland channels
The shipping channels giving access to the regional commercial ports of Hastings and Portland are managed under channel operating agreements between the VRCA and the managers of those ports.