Cairns dominates northern Australia in terms of marine activity. Locally based shipping includes Australia’s largest tourism fleet, a large fishing fleet and a range of trading and work vessels. It is home of Australia’s north eastern operational naval base – HMAS Cairns.
The region's maritime services sector is the largest and most sophisticated in northern Australia and of substantial importance in the wider Oceania/South West Pacific area.
Regular visits to Cairns by super yachts and cruise ships are another important growing contributor to the region and have a flow-on effect to other industries.
The Cairns marine industry currently employs nearly 4,500 people in the region and is worth approximately $670 million a year to the Cairns economy.
