The shipping platform

Location: Botany Bay lies 12nm S of the entrance to Sydney harbour. Port Botany lies on the N side of the bay. On the S side lies Kurnell. General overview: The recent history of Botany Bay stems from the port of Sydney's need to cater for the growth in container trades. The port was, at first, administered as one unit with Sydney, but increasing traffic has led to the terminal's position as New South Wales principal container and petrochemical port. Kurnell handles crude oil imports and petroleum products for the oil refinery. Traffic figures: Approx 1,640 vessels, 20,000,000t of cargo and 1,600,000TEU handled annually. Load line zone: Summer. Max size: LOA 294m, 160,000DWT. Max draught: Tankers 14.0m. Container vessels 15.2m. Largest vessels handled: Tanker "Energy Sprinter", LOA 275m. Container ship "MSC Fabienne", LOA 294m.