The shipping news, part 1

Living in Darwin has made me realise how little I know about ships and ports. Fortunately there's a Darwin Port website, which lists ships coming into and going out of port. It's been getting a lot of traffic from me.

This is my workspace in the office. We're on the 11th floor and I have an uninterrupted and enviable view of Darwin Harbour. From my desk I see the ocean traffic come and go. Pros: (a) I see a changing seascape and interesting ships every day, all day. (b) I get lots of visits from chatty colleagues who come to enjoy the view from my window. Cons: (a) I get lots of visits from chatty colleagues who come to enjoy the view from my window.

That bobbly white ship is a gas carrier, but more on that later.

Let's start with national security. Smiley face. This is the Cape Jervis, an Australian Border Force vessel. These Cape Class patrol boats go out on 28-day patrols and are constantly popping back in and out of Darwin. (Maybe it's not the same boat each time but we certainly see them frequently.)

Australian Border Force has eight of these patrol boats — each named for a remote bay in one state or territory. Cape Jervis is in South Australia, but I bet its ABF namesake doesn't spend too much time in those placid waters.

These orange beauties are offshore supply ships that have a firefighting capability, and they hang around the harbour almost constantly. We see three or four in harbour every day.

Here's a small selection of other vessels taken from my desk: a coastal barge/RORO, a car carrier that travels between Korea and Australia, and a construction platform near the naval base. The quality of the photo depends on how far away the ship is, the air quality (at this time of year there's smoke from vegetation burn-off everywhere) and whether I'm using my phone or my camera. The camera wins every time.

Darwin Port has two wharves for marine traffic: East Arm and Fort Hill Wharf. Here's East Arm in the background, taken from the Waterfront. (That's Stokes aka Frogmouth Hill Wharf in the foreground. Technically it's not part of 'Darwin Port' — SHW is a wharf for tourist vessels that operate jetski tours and fishing, sightseeing and sundowner cruises. One tug does tie up there but that's a story I'll tell in Part 2.)

East Arm Wharf has four berths: two are used for general cargo, containers, motor vehicles and livestock. Another berth is used for bulk ore exports, and the fourth berth is used for bulk liquids. So we see all these types of ships coming and going as they head through Darwin Harbour to the port.

So, bulk liquids. Darwin is a major export hub for liquefied natural gas. More than 10% of Japan's global LNG imports come from Darwin. Which leads nicely to these photos of gas carriers! Here's a gas carrier coming in towards Darwin as we're cycling around East Point ...

... and here are a few different types of gas carriers in the harbour.

But hang on, I hear you say, the last two photos aren't taken from your desk. You're right!

Our second main ship-viewing / photo-taking spot is from our Waterfront balcony. We look directly on to Fort Hill Wharf, the second of Darwin's two wharves. Here's Ken in his favourite chair, watching both the passing shipping and motorsport on his tablet. Ah, tropical life.

That's the cruise ship terminal directly in front of our balcony. As a cruise ship fan, I am very pleased to say that the cruise ship industry is thriving. In Darwin, at least.

Part 2 to come. This will include some photos of foreign navy vessels visiting Darwin and a focus on tugs, glorious tugs.