A port project in Broome could be set to transform the region’s trade engagement with Asia, as the final pieces fall into place.
A major new deepwater port in Broome, the Kimberley Marine Support Base, is on track to start operations in the second half of 2025.
It promises to reshape trade dynamics for Western Australia’s north, foster closer ties with Asian neighbours and unlock significant economic potential for a range of industries.
The development arrives at an important time, aligning with a pronounced government push for Australia to deepen its economic engagement with the rapidly growing economies of South-East Asia.
WA’s north-west has long been recognised as the nation’s mining and export powerhouse.
In the 2022-23 financial year, WA accounted for 51 per cent of Australia’s total merchandise exports, valued at $271.9 billion, primarily driven by its resources industry.
Iron ore, petroleum (including LNG) and gold remain key commodities, with the Pilbara region’s ports like Port Hedland and Dampier handling immense volumes destined for international markets.
While the resources-driven export boom shows no sign of slowing, smaller ports in the region are strategically positioning themselves to complement these busy routes and tap into new opportunities, particularly with burgeoning South-East Asian economies.
This includes the usually picturesque Kimberley town of Broome, which is developing a technologically unique port designed to serve an array of industries, from agriculture and tourism to resources and general freight.
The KMSB is not just another piece of infrastructure; it represents a forward-thinking approach to maritime logistics in a region defined by its challenging tidal conditions.
The timing of its development aligns with a growing chorus from government and industry leaders urging Australian businesses to look north.
At a Business News event in March 2025, Foreign Minister Penny Wong urged Australian businesses to deepen engagement with South-East Asian neighbours to offset the impact of global trade tensions and capitalise on the region’s rapid economic growth.
“By 2040, South-East Asia is predicted to be the world’s fourth largest economy after the US, China and India, and our trade and investment has simply not kept pace with either the growth to date or the projected growth,” she said.
“Australia was central to the north Asian growth story, and so to, we must be for the South-East Asian growth story, the countries of South-East Asia are critical to the next generation’s stability and prosperity.”
Ms Wong cautioned against protectionist impulses, asserting, “unlike Mr Dutton, we are not giving away the farm – and we don’t have to,” while encouraging businesses to explore diverse export markets.
Her sentiment underscored the strategic importance of projects like the KMSB, which could provide a blueprint for a wave of Australian shipping and trade diversification.
The strategic focus on building robust trade relationships with countries like Indonesia and Singapore has become a clear priority at both state and federal levels.
Underscoring this, both WA Premier Roger Cook and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese chose Indonesia for their first post-election overseas trips.
“Indonesia and Singapore are crucial trading partners for WA – that’s why I’m prioritising this important region for my first overseas mission since the state election,” Mr Cook said ahead of his visit earlier this year.
It focused on strengthening collaboration in areas like the green energy transition, food security and education.
Similarly, Mr Albanese’s visit to Indonesia in early May aimed to revitalise bilateral ties, with a strong emphasis on trade, investment and strategic partnerships, frequently highlighting the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement as a key mechanism.
Penny Wong used a Business News event earlier this year to urge Australian businesses to look to South-East Asia to offset the impact of global trade tensions. Photo: John Koh
The Broome facility is a feat of engineering designed to overcome the unique environmental challenges of the Kimberley coast.
It will incorporate a 300-metre-long piled jetty causeway connected to a 165m by 50m floating wharf platform.
The innovative floating design is crucial, allowing for the potential for 24-hour operation, unhindered by the massive 10m tidal variations that characterise Broome’s coastline and have historically hampered local logistics.
Significantly, the facility’s operations are planned to be carbon neutral.
The project developers estimate a notable reduction in carbon emissions, potentially up to 66 per cent, for freight arriving from
South-East Asia compared with traditional routes involving longer sea voyages and extensive land transport.
Further enhancing its environmental credentials, the wharf is positioned in a naturally deep berth pocket, eliminating the need for dredging and associated spoil disposal.
The journey to realise the KMSB has been lengthy. First announced in 2018 with an initial projected cost of $160 million, the project faced delays, primarily due to the global pandemic.
Now with a revised total investment of around $225 million, a significant milestone was reached in late May, when all major components for the wharf arrived in Broome from a specialised fabrication facility in China.
Fremantle-based marine and port services provider TAMS Group has been tasked with the construction and will operate the facility once completed.
Kimberley Marine Support Base executive manager corporate Chris Ciriello sees a direct link between the government’s strategic push and the opportunities KMSB offers.
“The distance from Broome to Jakarta is the closest entry point for any Indonesian goods,” he said.
“I was recently at an Asian Engagement roundtable where Penny Wong spoke about the capital of the Indian Ocean being WA.
“As you start going through Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and India, it is really a channel we want to focus on and develop.”
Mr Ciriello points out the current inefficiencies in shipping routes.
“There are multiple vessels that finish in Fremantle and sail past Broome and go into Manila, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore,” he said.
“And then there are multiple vessels that finish in Queensland and sail past Broome all the way back to Singapore, Hong Kong, China.”
The logistical advantages of KMSB become apparent when considering land transport as well.
“So, when you start looking at that, the ability for a vessel to either go to Fremantle or to Broome, it is closer to come into Broome and drive all the way to Exmouth or to Onslow than what it is from Fremantle,” Mr Ciriello said.
The use of RAV (Restricted Access Vehicle) Network 10 roads from Broome allows for larger road train configurations, such as triples, which can carry significantly more freight per journey – up to 50 per cent more than a standard semi-trailer.
“And with the RAV 10 roads we’re able to take triples (trailers),” he said.
“When you head out of Fremantle, you’ll take two. And so, at a third more trucks on the road (from Fremantle) – more CO2 output and more dangerous roads.”
The improved freight efficiency means fewer truck movements for the same freight task, leading to reduced fuel consumption per tonne-kilometre and a lighter environmental footprint.
The KMSB is poised to deliver tangible benefits across a spectrum of industries for the north-west.
The Kimberley region, with its Ord River Irrigation Scheme, produces a variety of agricultural products, including melons, pumpkins and mangoes.
Currently, much of this produce undertakes a long and costly road journey of more than 2,200 kilometres to Fremantle for export.
“So, I think a lot of people don’t know this, but at the moment there’s a lot of pumpkins, watermelons and other agricultural products which are being trucked all the way down to Fremantle to be exported,” Mr Ciriello said.
The base of the wharf arrived in Broome in late May. Photo: KMSB
The KMSB offers a dramatically shorter route to Asian markets, with shipping times for some horticultural products from Northern Australia to key Asian ports like Singapore potentially being as short as seven to 10 days.
“It significantly saves not only the vessel owner, but the person also purchasing, and all the other supply chain in between, it eliminates a lot of the carbon footprint,” Mr Ciriello said.
“I think you’ll even see some benefit for traditional owner-run export businesses.
“For food, the project brings exporting closer, eliminates a lot of expensive haulage, is cheaper and is going to be fresher than what we currently offer.”
The importation of vehicles and essential equipment, particularly for the mining and agricultural sectors, is another area where KMSB is expected to make an impact.
Mr Ciriello highlighted the potential for direct imports to Broome to make purchasing vehicles in the north-west considerably cheaper and provide a new import pathway for mining equipment, benefiting smaller miners.
The high cost of living and construction in the area, often referred to a ‘north-west tax’, reflects the significant cost of freight to the region.
While an exact figure is elusive, it’s widely acknowledged that goods and services can be 20 to 40 per cent more expensive in remote northern regions.
Mr Ciriello believes the KMSB could play a pivotal role in reducing this burden.
“So, at the moment, working with a local business in Broome, looking at how expensive their building product is, they bring in steel from Indonesia, it sails to Fremantle, and they then truck it 2,200km to Broome,” he said.
“It gets cut on site, then sent back down for powder coating, galvanised, sent back up – so that piece of steel is going 6,600km just on WA roads, and the cost of that is passed on to the local economy.”
The flow-on effects of reducing these embedded freight costs could be substantial, particularly for housing supply.
Mr Ciriello believes roll-on/ roll-off vessels could provide a key solution.
“With RORO vessels, what we’ve looked at as a priority is that when these vessels leave Fremantle to go back to China or Singapore, they are often only at around 20 per cent capacity,” he said.
“We think having a point in Broome between could provide for a coastal shipping line connecting WA, and Australia’s, population centres with the north-west.
“There are also a lot of multinational companies and big industries that only import into the east coast, and then they truck everything directly into Fremantle and then [it] gets reconsolidated and driven up.
“So those extra handling costs, extra days on the road, extra touch points, all just mean extra costs.”
A critical enabler for the KMSB’s success will be its designation as a ‘first port of entry’ by federal authorities.
This status allows vessels to arrive directly from overseas, streamlining customs, immigration and biosecurity clearances and is fundamental to attracting international shipping lines.
KMSB managing director Andrew Natta (left) and executive manager corporate Chris Ciriello with a 3D printed version of the KMSB. Photo: Michael O’Brien
The Kimberley is also a world-renowned tourism destination, and the KMSB is expected to significantly boost its capacity to welcome cruise ships.
Mr Ciriello said the timely delivery of FPOE facilities for cruises was imperative and called on the federal government to prioritise delivering the infrastructure.
“One thing we need to work faster on with government is the first point of entry cruise terminal, because at the moment, we can have calls through Broome, but they can’t offload their luggage (if arriving directly from an international port without prior Australian clearance elsewhere),” he said.
The KMSB’s design will allow it to accommodate larger cruise vessels.
“We know there is a Disney Vessel coming to Asia, which has got minimal ports (to stop at) throughout the region because of its size – we would be able to take that 348m vessel alongside,” Mr Ciriello said.
“The Australian Cruise Association even recently had their board meeting in Broome because it’s a location they obviously see as having huge potential.
“They’ve even paid for 30 executives, from places like Norway and the US, to come to Broome and see the new facilities in September.”
A single large cruise ship visit can inject hundreds of thousands of dollars into a regional economy.
Furthermore, the Browse Basin, offshore from the Kimberley coast, is one of Australia’s largest undeveloped gas and condensate resources.
Mr Ciriello said the KMSB was well-positioned to provide essential support services to this industry, offering cost and time savings for operators due to its proximity and enhanced capabilities.
With landside works well under way, and the floating wharf delivered from China courtesy of a gigantic semi-submersible cargo ship, the project is just a couple of months from operation.
