2026 schedule for maintenance dredging of Queensland ports

This schedule has been prepared by the Queensland Ports Association as part of reporting requirements under the Queensland Government's Maintenance Dredging Strategy for Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area Ports.

Queensland ports require routine maintenance dredging to remove sediments that have accumulated in channels, berths and swing basins due to siltation and sediment transport processes. Most ports cannot sustainably function without maintenance dredging. Maintenance dredging has occurred in Queensland since ports were first established.

Most maintenance dredging is carried out by the Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger Brisbane which undertakes an annual dredging program of Queensland ports over a period of 6–8 months. The dredger, based in Brisbane and operated by the Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd, was specifically designed and built for Queensland conditions with the vessel applying high standards of environmental management. The environmental management mechanisms are equivalent to the features installed in the latest Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger models used around the world and ensure environmental impact is minimised during the dredging works.

The Queensland Government has developed the Maintenance Dredging Strategy for Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area Ports (the strategy) consistent with the requirements of the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan. The strategy aims to build on the current strong regulatory requirements and ensure the ongoing protection of the Reef's values and the continued operating efficiency of ports within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

The strategy requires ports to work together to ensure that the annual state-wide maintenance dredging program for the Brisbane is developed to optimise environmental outcomes and operational efficiencies and to make the schedule publicly available.

The strategy focusses on ports within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. However, development of the state-wide schedule needs to consider other Queensland ports (for example Weipa, Amrun, Karumba and Bundaberg) as they also have maintenance dredging requirements and need to be included in scheduling of the Brisbane. The northern ports campaign can be influenced significantly by the level of monsoon activity or wet season extreme weather events, particularly at Weipa, or Karumba, and hence affect the schedule at the Great Barrier Reef ports.

The schedule for the state-wide maintenance dredging program by the Brisbane varies from year to year and consecutive years are rarely the same. Not all Queensland ports require dredging each year and the volume of dredging required at each port, and associated urgency, depends upon the level of siltation at each port and its operational needs.

Importantly, environmental risks associated with timing of maintenance dredging, whilst typically low, may also vary annually. Each port has therefore completed a port-specific environmental risk assessment as a key input to the development of the 2026 dredge schedule (consistent with the requirements of the strategy).

The 2026 dredging schedule may be influenced by unanticipated factors such as weather, dredger breakdown, logistical or provisioning issues. Ports will continually monitor the schedule to determine whether such changes are likely to result in increased environmental risk. In instances where the environmental risk increases, we will be notified, and existing environmental controls reviewed to determine whether they are still effective.

2026 state-wide maintenance dredging schedule

Month	Location of the Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger Brisbane for maintenance dredging
January	Port of Gladstone Port of Brisbane
February	Port of Brisbane
March	Port of Brisbane
April	Port of Brisbane
May	Port of Brisbane
June	Port of Brisbane Port of Bundaberg Port of Cairns
July	Port of Cairns Port of Weipa Amrun
August	Amrun Port of Karumba
September	Port of Townsville
October	Dredger refit in Cairns
November	Port of Cairns Port of Gladstone
December	Port of Gladstone Port of Brisbane

To develop the 2026 state-wide dredging schedule, individual ports and the dredger operator considered the following issues:

• opportunities to minimise dredging requirements
• opportunities to minimise environmental risks
• permitting and approval conditions
• volumes of material to be dredged
• urgency of port dredging requirements
• dredge vessel maintenance including refit needs
• economic efficiencies
• response to natural disasters including cyclones and flood events
• reducing carbon emissions.

Minimise dredging requirements

The schedule is best initiated after the wet season when most sedimentation occurs to avoid the need for follow-up dredging. The schedule for this year begins as early as mid-April.

Minimise environmental risks

Port specific risk assessments suggest maintenance dredging is a low risk at all ports. However good practice principles suggest that, for 2026, dredging should be avoided:

• at Bundaberg from October to February when turtle nesting occurs at Mon Repos (this is also a permit condition)
• at Karumba a permit condition requires that dredging only occurs between 1 May and 30 September in any year
• at Port of Townsville voluntary limitations are in place from:
  • 7 to 14 October and 6 to 13 November to avoid timing of coral spawning
  • 26 August to 3 September, if possible, to avoid a local event for navigational safety (note event window subject to change by a few days).

Seagrass communities at ports vary in condition and extent reflecting environmental conditions (for example cyclones or above average rainfall) experienced over the preceding years with some being in good condition whilst others are recovering or are in poor condition. Many years of dredging and seagrass monitoring indicate no environmental benefit would be gained by restricting maintenance dredging at ports to a specific time of the year.

Permitting and approval conditions

Permit conditions include restrictions on dredging at Bundaberg in the period October to February due to turtle nesting in the area and restrictions on dredging at Karumba from October to April due to prawn migration and turtle nesting.

Volumes of material to be dredged

The degree of siltation and its location within the channel, berth or swing basin determines the volume of material to be dredged and the duration of dredging at each port required to restore designated depths. Currently forecast volumes in 2026 at all ports are generally consistent with or below long-term averages.

Urgency of dredging requirements

The urgency of dredging requirements varies from year to year depending upon the degree and location of siltation at each port. Based on current conditions there are no immediate urgent requirements.

Dredger refit

An out of water refit of the Brisbane will be undertaken in 2026. This is tentatively scheduled for October (out of dredging operations for approximately 4 weeks). Timings may change subject to dock yard availability and requirements of the 2026 dredging program.

Dredger economic efficiencies

The schedule has been designed to ensure ports are visited in a relatively linear fashion and avoid the need to 'backtrack' wherever possible. Increased requirements for the Brisbane to travel between ports result in increased costs, fuel usage and vessel emissions.

Emergency response

The Port of Brisbane continues to remove the siltation caused by Tropical Cyclone Alfred in 2025.