Port of Melbourne

Port of Melbourne
Container crane and ship at Swanson Dock East
Facility information
Location	West Melbourne
Constructed	1889
Land area	143,000 m2
Operator	DP World Patrick
Annual TEU	2.5 million
Shipping information
Number of berths:	30+
Rail information
Number of platforms	16
Rail gauge	Dual gauge
Road information
Street access	Docklands Highway

The Port of Melbourne is Australia's busiest port for containerised and general cargo. It is located in Melbourne, Victoria, and covers an area at the mouth of the Yarra River, downstream of Bolte Bridge, which is at the head of Port Phillip, as well as several piers on the bay itself. Since 1 July 2003, the Port of Melbourne has been managed by the Port of Melbourne Corporation, a statutory corporation created by the State of Victoria.

Most of the port is in the suburb of West Melbourne and should not be confused with the Melbourne suburb of Port Melbourne although Webb Dock and Station Pier, parts of the Port of Melbourne, are in Port Melbourne.

Port Melbourne (or Sandridge as it was known until 1884) was a busy port early in the history of Melbourne, but declined as a cargo port with the development of the Port of Melbourne in the late 19th century. It retains Melbourne's passenger terminal however, with cruise ships and ferries using Station Pier.

In 2011, the port was projected to reach its full capacity in 2015.

In September 2016, the port’s commercial operations were leased to the Lonsdale Consortium, comprising the Australian Government Future Fund, Queensland Investment Corporation, GIP and OMERS, for a term of 50 years for more than $9.7 billion

The Port of Melbourne consists of several major man-made docks on the Yarra River and Port Melbourne, including (from upstream to downstream):

In Melbourne's early days, large ships were unable to navigate the Yarra River, so cargo destined for Melbourne had to be unloaded at either Hobsons Bay (now Williamstown) or Sandridge (now Port Melbourne) and transferred either by rail or by cargo lighter to warehouses which were concentrated around King Street. This was an expensive and inefficient process.