Australia: Port of Hastings Completes Preliminary Marine Surveys

The Port of Hastings Development Authority has marked a major milestone with the successful completion of detailed site surveys of Western Port’s marine environment.

These surveys included taking numerous samples from just over 100 borehole locations at various points across Western Port.

The samples were collected from two jack-up barges that began surveying in December 2013. The program was completed on Monday 28 July 2014.

CEO Mike Lean said the collection of this baseline data will inform the initial design and engineering planning for the next three years.

“Over the next three years, the Authority will continue to collect data from numerous sites across Western Port. This data will be used by the Authority’s experts to inform planning and design of a world-class sustainable port for Victoria,” he said.

“We need to ensure we are using quality, up-to-date data that is relevant to the Western Port environment. The new data collected in combination with known historical data, will ensure we understand our environment and its changing nature. This will assist the Authority in identifying innovative and sustainable solutions for the development of a container port in Hastings. We will ensure that this data is kept updated and relevant and will undertake further Geotechnical studies.”

The Authority completed a geophysical survey program earlier in the year, mapping the physical character of the seabed materials from a small vessel with a side scan sonar instrument, which complemented the successful completion of the geotechnical marine surveys.

These surveys, along with a terrestrial (land) geotechnical investigation and topographic survey, helped map the physical features of part of the relevant land zoned around the Port. This work begins building a solid foundation of knowledge that will greatly assist the program of specialist studies that will more fully assess the potential effects of the development of a new container port on the region’s marine and land environments.

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Press Release, August 11, 2014