| Carnival strong on Garden Is

CARNIVAL Australia is not giving up on the
plan to berth cruise ships ad hoc at Sydney’s
Garden Island, despite the release of the
Government funded Hawke Report, which
determined that particular berthing solution
was “essentially incompatible”.
Currently a naval base, many cruise
companies had pinned their hopes on Garden
Island as a long-term berthing option for ships
that cannot fit under the bridge.
Despite the negative recommendation,
Carnival Australia’s ceo, and long-time
champion of the solution, Ann Sherry said that
“sorting out cruise ship berth arrangements in
Sydney has never been more urgent with an
increasing number of cruise ships having to
anchor mid harbour because of the lack of
suitable berths”.
“A three berth solution with White Bay, the
Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay
and shared use of Garden Island on an ad hoc
basis during peak cruise periods, is still the
best option for Sydney,” she said.
To that end, Carnival Australia has said that it
“looks forward” to further discussions with the
State and Federal Govts to resolve infrastructure
issues including shared use of Garden Island.