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Katie Woolf spoke with Darwin Port General Manager of Operations Captain Ian Niblock · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf thanks to Joyce Main Darwin
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  Speaker 1: homes own Stuart Highway beerro Matte.
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  Speaker 2: Joining me live in this studio, Katany and New Block,
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  Speaker 2: the general manager of operations at the Darwin Port. How
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  Speaker 2: are you.
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  Speaker 1: I'm good, Katie, your soul yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Really well, great to see you. And I know that
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  Speaker 2: there's you know, there's always plenty happening around the place.
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  Speaker 2: But in some wonderful news there's a new cruise ship
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  Speaker 2: which is making its maiden voyage to Darwin.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely so built for Coral Expedition Cruises, Australian company so On,
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  Speaker 1: a long standing customer of the port. So we've got
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  Speaker 1: a fantastic professional relationship with that team and they built
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  Speaker 1: this ship in launched in twenty nineteen. She's coming in
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  Speaker 1: from Broome and maiden voyage and really exciting to see,
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  Speaker 1: you know, a new cruise ship. And they're made so
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  Speaker 1: that they're ideal for doing things like the Kimberley Cruiser,
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  Speaker 1: so they shallow draft, they can go places other ships can't.
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  Speaker 1: Then they've got these big tenders they dropped off the
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  Speaker 1: back and everyone can go and just have a ball,
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  Speaker 1: and you know, it's a sort of echo just doing
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  Speaker 1: unusual things.
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  Speaker 2: And they're not those massive cruise ships are they? Like,
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  Speaker 2: how many people are we talking?
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  Speaker 1: So you're talking ninety nine passengers and forty eight crew,
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  Speaker 1: So that fits beautifully within the Chief Health Officers one
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  Speaker 1: point fifty requirement. And you know, the ship's slightly less
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  Speaker 1: than one hundred meters long, so not a big ship.
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  Speaker 1: It's going to be very, very personal. And I was
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  Speaker 1: having a look at some photographs online. Wow, it's really nice, fancy, fancy,
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  Speaker 1: beautiful stuff. You know that the cabins are fairly understated,
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  Speaker 1: but then you don't want to be in your cabin,
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  Speaker 1: you want to be out with all everyone else. And
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  Speaker 1: so they've encouraged that by making the bar and the
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  Speaker 1: dining areas and casual sitting areas really inviting.
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  Speaker 2: Here you go, So what's it called for those of
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  Speaker 2: us who maybe want.
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  Speaker 1: To do a little called the chral geographer?
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  Speaker 2: Oh and so maiden voyage here to Darwit.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, else tomorrow morning? Up there you go.
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  Speaker 2: How long's going to be here?
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  Speaker 1: It'll be in here overnight. So they'll come in, they'll
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  Speaker 1: the broom, passengers will clear into the territory, they'll leave,
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  Speaker 1: and then new passengers will join on Friday morning and
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  Speaker 1: off they'll go. Good stuff.
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  Speaker 2: Now I know that it's the cruise, the cruise ships
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  Speaker 2: of You know, things have certainly changed over the last
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  Speaker 2: year or so, particularly for us here in Darwin. But
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  Speaker 2: how's it all been going in terms of those different
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  Speaker 2: ships arriving.
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  Speaker 1: So really we've got ongoing commitments for the three ships.
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  Speaker 1: This company operates right through until October, so they're doing
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  Speaker 1: ten day cruises, so we see them roughly every twenty days.
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  Speaker 1: There's three, there's three ships doing that. We've still got
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  Speaker 1: some forward bookings for some larger ships and some ships
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  Speaker 1: smaller ones from overseas, I think, waiting to see what
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  Speaker 1: happens in terms of federal government decisions around there. So
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  Speaker 1: people are loath to remove the bookings from the system
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  Speaker 1: because if you take it and then someone pinches your slot,
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  Speaker 1: you can't get it back again. Oh there you go.
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  Speaker 2: So they're sort of forward booking even though they're not
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  Speaker 2: one hundred percent sure what's going to happen.
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  Speaker 1: That's right, and so they'll take them off at the
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  Speaker 1: last minutes if need be. So, you know, it's really
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  Speaker 1: exciting and I get the honor tomorrow to go on
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  Speaker 1: board the ship and do a plaque exchange, which is
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  Speaker 1: a maritime tradition that the ship will give us one
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  Speaker 1: of their plucks, will give them one of ours, and
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  Speaker 1: of course then that little bit of the northern territory
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  Speaker 1: travels with the ship for the rest of its life.
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  Speaker 2: Oh that's really nice, isn't That's something a bit different
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  Speaker 2: and something that a lot of us wouldn't even be
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  Speaker 2: aware of.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and so you'll see, you know, on ships, you'll
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  Speaker 1: see a collection of plaques for all the places they've
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  Speaker 1: been to. And of course on those big you know,
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  Speaker 1: the big liners, it's an incredible number of plaques for
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  Speaker 1: all the ports that they go through throughout right there you.
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  Speaker 2: Go, and with the ones that we're seeing at the moment. Ay,
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  Speaker 2: I know that you know that you said they'll stay overnight.
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  Speaker 2: This is the chral geographer. It'll stay overnight. Not Traditionally
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  Speaker 2: do they sort of get off of that little cruise
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  Speaker 2: ship and come and see Darwin or are they more
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  Speaker 2: because they are those boutique ones, they tend to sort
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  Speaker 2: of stay on there.
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  Speaker 1: So the passengers that depart the ship will probably stay
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  Speaker 1: in Darwin for a couple of days. They might do
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  Speaker 1: a bit of touring around. That's traditionally what happens, and
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  Speaker 1: don't forget as well as the passenger joining probably from
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  Speaker 1: throughout Australia from it and so they're probably here already.
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  Speaker 1: I might have spent a few days in Darwin looking around.
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  Speaker 2: You know, that's good going to base in the grave,
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  Speaker 2: maybe not base. And it's been great to see different
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  Speaker 2: tourists I reckon in Darwin at the moment. And I
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  Speaker 2: was talking to a retailer yesterday who said that, you know,
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  Speaker 2: she hasn't necessarily been busier because of those big events,
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  Speaker 2: but seeing different types of tourists come to the territory,
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  Speaker 2: people who maybe would have spent their money overseas now
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  Speaker 2: looking to travel internally.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and you're right, you're seeing a lot of that.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, I guess over the last couple of weekends
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  Speaker 1: we've had a lot of young people here, which is
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  Speaker 1: really nice to see. But also, yeah, I noticed yesterday
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  Speaker 1: I went for a bike ride and you know there's
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  Speaker 1: people out and about and they're clearly not from here,
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  Speaker 1: and you think that's great. It's lovely to see them
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  Speaker 1: out enjoying our beautiful weather and getting out seeing Darwin.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree with you. And it's good to see
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  Speaker 2: our businesses you know, really benefiting as well. Absolutely yeah,
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  Speaker 2: Captain I and Niblock, the general manager of operations at
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  Speaker 2: the Darwin Port. It's always good to catch up with you.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks for coming in this morning.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks Katie, it's my pleasure. As always, we'll.
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  Speaker 2: Talk to you again very soon. You are listening to
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  Speaker 2: Mix one O four point nine three sixty