Darling Harbour Sydney crisis

26th January is Australia Day, and it was celebrated, in part by the start of the Tall Ships Race which set off from Sydney Harbour and ended with a concert and firework display in Darling Harbour. But the use of the harbour is wrapped in bitter controversy that will affect cruise passengers.

The New South Wales Government, like many around the world, is struggling to manage its budgets and plans to raise capital by selling public land and assets in and around Darling Harbour, including the Sydney Aquarium. The Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, which manages the assets, is offering 99 year leases on properties including six major hotels used by cruise lines to accommodate passengers before and after cruises. Also up for grabs are the leasehold on the Harbourside car park at Darling Harbour and the freehold interest in the Promontory car park at Pyrmont.

What it means is that cruise passengers arriving in Sydney may find that they are no longer disembarking on the iconic Darling Harbour but instead at White Bay, the city's industrial precinct in a move which has been described as short-sighted by those who say that all the 42 cruise ships currently being built around the world, will be unable to use this passenger terminal because they are too tall. Shipping Australia chief executive Llew Russell said, 'Our figures suggest that over the first five to ten years, the White Bay terminal would be used extensively… after that, when the larger vessels come on line, the demand will fall away.’ And that may mean that fewer cruises make long port calls in Sydney, which has been one of the most popular one and two day port stops of the past decade.