00:02It's smooth sailing today, but that's not always the case.
00:06Last November this ship ran aground in the Bridport Channel with 400 cattle on board
00:12and had to wait 12 hours for the next high tide.
00:16While it wasn't enough to break cattle transport rules
00:20But if you got stuck twice, that would be really serious.
00:23The Bridport Channel is so shallow most ships have only a half hour window either side of high tide to
00:30cross it.
00:31David Harris ships cattle and cargo from Flinders Island and says costly delays are becoming more frequent.
00:39Recently there's a big influx of sand outside the river on the western side of the channel
00:47and that's being sucked into the creek and making it quite problematic to get the boats in and out.
00:54Mr Harris wants a shorter, deeper channel to be created by cutting through dunes near the port.
01:00The State Government estimates this would cost $12 million.
01:04Now I flatly reject that. I think that we can do it for around $3 million.
01:09Three years ago the State Government set aside $600,000 for further design and construction work for a new port
01:16entrance.
01:17It remains unspent.
01:19Transport Minister Kerry Vincent says it's still assessing options but the idea remains on the table.
01:26Louise Brooker worries creating a new entrance would harm the environment, particularly a nearby salt marsh.
01:33If that entrance were closed this would sort of become a shallow sort of, well a bit of a cesspool
01:40really.
01:41Commercial fisherman Luke Brown has also had trouble getting through the channel.
01:45He believes regular dredging would be enough to fix the problem.
01:49We just want a little bit of sand moved and yeah, just every couple of years.
01:55But Mr Harris insists a new entrance is the only way to go.
01:59You've got to actually change something.
02:02ặng 10 Minotsha目
02:04at 11 일� We're at 9. 10
02:05Yeah, just go to 10 minutes and remember. It's
02:05a natural thing and cannot be changed.
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