How will freight mix with recreation in Cockburn Sound?
We often get questions from the community about how recreational access to Cockburn Sound will change in the future, once there’s a container terminal.
Globally, freight vessels have a long-standing tradition of sharing waterways and channels with other commercial users and community vessels.
Anyone who’s travelled by boat from the Swan River to the open ocean has passed through one of Australia’s busiest trading ports, the Fremantle Inner Harbour.
In the future, recreation in Cockburn Sound is planned to co-exist with commercial shipping like it does now at the Port of Fremantle, managed by the Harbour Master.
Once the new port facilities are operational, there may be some areas in the immediate vicinity of the berths and breakwater that cannot be accessed for recreation. These areas are likely to be relatively small and the surrounding waters outside of the port footprint will remain accessible for fishing, boating and other recreation.
How many container ships will visit the new port facilities?
Currently about 850 ships visit the Kwinana Outer Harbour annually.
From the late 2030s, Westport is expected to add around one container ship per day. With container ships getting larger, the number of container ships arriving in WA is projected to remain stable for the next 15 years. Beyond 2040, the number of container ships is expected to gradually increase, reaching 12 per week around 2051.
Learn more
To find out more about what Westport will mean for recreation in Cockburn Sound, including fishing, sailing, seagrass management, marine science and more,
visit our new fishing and recreation webpage.
Our shared journey with Noongar people
The Noongar name for Cockburn Sound is Derbal Nara, and this area and its surrounds are rich with cultural knowledge, stories and songlines of the Whadjuk and Gnaala Karla Booja Noongar Peoples.
We’ve been working closely with Noongar people for years to ensure benefits from Westport are maximised for Noongar communities in planning, construction and operational stages.
Guided by our Noongar Advisory Group and Noongar Opportunities Strategy, we’re embedding culture in design and creating strong partnerships within the community.
This work includes:
- Mapping culturally significant sites, stories and song lines in Westport’s footprint.
- Building a register of Aboriginal-owned businesses for reference in future stages.
- Meeting with Noongar Advisory Group members on Country.
- Noongar representatives on our environmental mitigation and ESG groups.
- Noongar advisors participating in related procurement evaluations.
Community engagement snapshot
This month we’ve spoken to more than 70 people at our Kwinana Marketplace and Cockburn Farmer's Market community pop-ups.
These events give us a chance to hear your questions and concerns, as well as share information about Westport.
Recently we’ve had lots of questions about fishing and recreation in Cockburn Sound, which is why we’ve launched this page.
Our community events are ongoing, so if you would like to have an in-person chat, please visit us at one of our upcoming pop-ups:
Rockingham Rotary Market
- Sunday 11 August
- 7am - 12pm
- The Village Green Carpark, 19 Kent Street
Port Coogee Village Shopping Centre
- Saturday 24 August
- 10am - 1pm
- Orsino Blvd, North Coogee
Perth Boat Show
- Friday 6 September - Sunday 8 September
- Friday 9am - 7pm, Saturday 9am - 5pm, Sunday 9am - 5pm
- Perth Exhibition Centre
Keep up to date with all our upcoming events on our website.
Have an idea for where Westport can connect with your local community? Get in touch to let us know via the Westport enquiries email: enquiries@westport.wa.gov.au
Check out our latest Navigate Newsletter
Topics explored in our technical Navigate newsletter include Westport’s long-term goal for the port and local container supply chain to be net zero by 2050, the next steps in Westport's environmental assessments, findings from the WAMSI report for project 6.3 and more.
