Project overview
Broome has long been a strategic northern gateway for Australia’s resources, defence, and tourism industries. Yet the port’s ageing wharf, built for a different era, was unable to meet the demands of modern trade. The region’s extreme tidal range – rising and falling up to ten metres within six hours – restricted operations to short tidal windows, driving inefficiency and deterring larger vessels. Freight remained slow and expensive, limiting competitiveness and curtailing Broome’s potential as a 24/7 logistics hub. Conventional expansion methods such as dredging carried unacceptable environmental risks for the pristine Kimberley coastline. A new marine facility was required: one that enabled all-tide operations while protecting local ecosystems and meeting community expectations.
Scope of work
The Kimberley Marine Support Base consortium engaged TAMS Group to design and construct a new floating wharf and approach causeway. The contract demanded more than delivery of infrastructure, it required collaborative problem-solving, innovative engineering, and respect for environmental and cultural requirements. The scope included a 165-metre by 50-metre floating wharf positioned in naturally deep water, a 300-metre trestle causeway, link-span ramp and integration of essential services such as power, water, firefighting, and navigation systems.
