ESPERANCE Port Authority has won the Australian Port of the Year Award at the eight annual Shipping and Transport Awards in Sydney.
The award was for excellence in environmental achievement for the way the port has managed its growing iron ore trade – expected to reach six million tonnes by 2005 – to limit impact on the town’s community.
Last year’s completion of a $54 million upgrade made Esperance the deepest port in southern Australia and the EPA’s solutions to the environmental issues surrounding exporting iron ore cemented the Western Australian Government’s investment in the region.
Lloyd’s List Daily Commercial News editor and judging panel chair Kevin Chinnery said the judges had been impressed with the authority’s approach of enclosing the port’s iron ore operations, including conveyors, equipment and stockpiles, to prevent dust and other pollution.
EPA CEO Colin Stewart said the total enclosure solution had been a major shift away from the usual method of handling minerals at ports.
"Our approach transformed the local Esperance community’s attitudes to the port’s handling of iron ore and set a new benchmark for other ports in the clean handling of commodities," he said.
