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Speaker 1: Joining us on the line right now is Ian Niblock

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Speaker 1: from the Darwin Port. Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Ian, Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Now, Ian, I know that's obviously a lot of different

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Speaker 1: industries impacted in different ways as a result of the

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Speaker 1: current COVID lockdown. How are things for you guys out

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Speaker 1: at the port? Is it all sort of smooth sailing?

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Speaker 2: Pardon the pun, Well, it is smooth sailing. I'll forgive

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Speaker 2: you for that one, yeah, because we fall under schedule

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Speaker 2: what schedule one of the Chief Health Officers direction in

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Speaker 2: terms of freight services for road, rail, seat and air,

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Speaker 2: and we cover three of those off So the port

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Speaker 2: continues to operate because we're an essential service and you know, goods, fuel,

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Speaker 2: all of that stuff needs to be taken in and

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Speaker 2: out of the territory for our businesses and for the public.

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Speaker 2: So what we've done is everyone who can work from

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Speaker 2: home is now working from home, and then those frontline

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Speaker 2: essential personnel. So that's our harbor control, our landside operations, maintenance,

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Speaker 2: and wharf operations security. Obviously our pilots to move the

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Speaker 2: ships and the pilot boat are all working normally, but

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Speaker 2: obviously complying with the Chief Health Officers directions for masks

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Speaker 2: minimizing physical contact and all that stuff.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. So and so at this point in Tommy, are

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Speaker 1: you guys pretty busy still?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we are. We've got our normal traffic coming through

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Speaker 2: for both the Gap terminals and then also all of

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Speaker 2: our traffic at Eastern Wolf so we're loading a manganese

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Speaker 2: vessel at the moment. At Eastern Wharf, we've got cattle

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Speaker 2: vessels coming through for livestock exports. And just at the

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Speaker 2: moment we've got a couple of naval vessels in so

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Speaker 2: very imposing HMAS Canberra at Fort Hill Wholf. You can't

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Speaker 2: miss her. She's a very large ship. And also we've

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Speaker 2: got the HMAS and ZAC at East Earn Wharf. I

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Speaker 2: think they've been at sea for an excess of seventy days,

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Speaker 2: probably due a bit of a break, some downtime and

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Speaker 2: also some maintenance. So it's great to see them here.

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Speaker 2: In terms of their crews, yeah, they're complying with the

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Speaker 2: Chief Health Officers directions the same as the rest of us.

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Speaker 2: So if they want to exercise, it's just an hour

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Speaker 2: within five k's of their ship, and they can only

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Speaker 2: go to supermarkets and for health treatment and stuff like that,

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Speaker 2: so the same as the rest of us. Interestingly, the

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Speaker 2: comment was made to me that they don't pose the

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Speaker 2: rest to us because they've been at C for seventy days.

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Speaker 2: We pose the rest to them, which is a first statement.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that's something that I hadn't even thought of before.

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Speaker 1: Have So for them, were they they were obviously planning

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Speaker 1: on docking here or being here in port before we

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Speaker 1: went into a lockdown, So like you'd sort of said,

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Speaker 1: they're obviously here for a bit of respite and some

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Speaker 1: maintenance and that kind of thing. Are probably a bit

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Speaker 1: disappointing for them that we're in lockdown, as it is

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Speaker 1: for all, But they're all pretty understanding. I'm guessing well.

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Speaker 2: They are, And you know, I can relate to when

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Speaker 2: I was away to see that. You know, you're very

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Speaker 2: busy a lot of the time I was Merchant Navy,

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Speaker 2: so moving cargoes around. But if you got some time

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Speaker 2: down that downtime where you had so just a couple

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Speaker 2: of days or even just a half day where you

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Speaker 2: could break the normal routine and just take some time

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Speaker 2: to sort of bees back and not have to do

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Speaker 2: your watches, have to do your cargo handling. That was

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Speaker 2: really helpful because it just helps you recover a little bit.

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Speaker 2: So you know, I'm sure they've been really busy running

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Speaker 2: the ship, and I think they've been doing exercises, so

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Speaker 2: even being in lockdown will give them a break. And

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Speaker 2: I'm sure that they're along with the rest of us

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Speaker 2: with fingers and toes crossed that the lockdown ends today

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Speaker 2: and sorry tomorrow at lunchtime.

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Speaker 1: And so how long are they here for.

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Speaker 2: Ian, Well, they're here until the twenty sixth, so they've

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Speaker 2: got a good stay in port ten days that they

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Speaker 2: arrives on the sixteenth. So this your scope. So even

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Speaker 2: if you know, if the Chief Minister does extend the lockdown,

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Speaker 2: there's plenty of scope for them to still be alongside

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Speaker 2: and have that chance to go and have a little

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Speaker 2: little look at Darmin and potentially spend some money here

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Speaker 2: as well.

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Speaker 1: And while they are here, if our lockdown lives, is

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Speaker 1: it worth going and having a bit of a squeeze

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Speaker 1: at these ships.

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Speaker 2: Well, you won't be able to see the Anzac unless

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Speaker 2: you've got a boat the star and wharf, but you

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Speaker 2: can definitely see the camera from anywhere along the estronade

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Speaker 2: or if you drop down to the waterfront there because

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Speaker 2: she's very large, very imposing ships. So I went for

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Speaker 2: a walk yesterday evening around that way and she's right there.

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Speaker 2: You can't miss her.

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Speaker 1: Good stuff, Oh, will Ian, it's always good to catch

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Speaker 1: up and it by the sounds of things, it's all

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Speaker 1: sort of normal operations for you guys there at the

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Speaker 1: port at the moment.

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Speaker 2: Well it is. We're keeping it as normal as we

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Speaker 2: possibly can. As I say, it's just frontline troops on

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Speaker 2: deck at the moment. And you know, I think you

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Speaker 2: visit a tarbor control so you know that that's our

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Speaker 2: coordination center for all the movements and the port, so

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Speaker 2: it's absolutely essential that that continues to operate for safety.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, Captain Ian Niblock, the general manager of operations

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Speaker 1: at the Darwin Port. Always good to catch up with you.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much for having a chat with us today.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely my pleasure, Katie is always thank you.

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Speaker 1: Stay safety and