Later, we looked up:-  

The Port of Abbot Point is of significant strategic value to North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation, as there are very few locations along Queensland's eastern seaboard where deep water (>15m) is so close in-shore and is so close to a UNESCO world heritage site. Abbot Point is the most northerly deepwater coal port of Australia, situated 25 kilometres north of Bowen, Queensland. Established in 1984, it consists of a rail in-loading facility, coal handling and stockpile areas, and a single trestle jetty and conveyor connected to a berth and shiploader, located 2.75 km off-shore.

India's Mundra Port signed a 99-year lease on Abbot Point Terminal 0 in 2011. The deal cost Adani Group $1.83 billion. Adani is seeking to expand the terminal to allow another 35 million tonnes of thermal coal exports per year, on top of the current 50 million tonnes of capacity.

In 2010-2011 190 vessels arrived and carried off a cargo tonnage of 15,063,943.

Thank you to Green Journal and Dredging Today for the pictures of this extraordinary facility.

NDBP explanatory picture and the Townsville Bulletin picture of the planned expansion. Wow.

Out on the twenty metre mark Gleamstar was patiently waiting for her turn. All 225 metres long, 32 metres wide and a draught of 7.5 metres, she was in France in March, China and May and here she is today. She carries the Marshall Islands flag and was built in 2011. Her gross tonnage is a whooping 41,342.

Bear happily looking up chum data for me.

.As dusk approached we could make out to our left another chum waiting quietly at anchor.

Just as I was settling to enjoy the sunset there was an almighty kerfuffle. A brown booby had circled Beez three times to find a nice roost for the night. I was telling him to land on the solar panel or the mid rail, no, he decided on the his fourth fly-by to try the wind generator. Landing well he hadn’t taken into account the steel slide back toward the blades. Oh my, he was hit and landed splat next to Bear’s vacant chair. The skippers head appeared in the doorway and I asked him to stand fast until my new friend had shaken the now circling stars from around his head. He attempted a take off but hit his beak on the dodger plastic thinking it was sky, now he was in the small gap, wings outstretched not knowing what to do next. Bear quietly covered our stuck visitor with his sweatshirt..........

..........and held him steady on the side rail. He flew off, landed for a second on the water and took off giving himself a good shake as he went. All was well.

Back to enjoying my sunset.

Bear snuggled in bed I had my busiest two till six yet, a very dark night with a few stars. I had to sneak left to pass a concrete carrier at anchor called Glory Pacific (when I looked up her picture she looked a bit of a one careful owner). On the horizon ahead a couple of bright lights, at three miles off Grand Venus appeared on the AIS, hugging the inner bit of the shipping lane. I went out to the right to do a port to port pass as I didn’t want to go in too far because of............

..............the sticky-out, sharp, pointy-bit of Cape Cleveland.

There was just enough light to show the outline of Grand Venus, a behemoth of a car carrier that went roaring by at twelve knots. This busy chum was in Port Kembla on the first of May and Yokohama at the end of the month. Today she had a pit stop in Townsville and now en route to Brisbane. With berthing fees at US$3,000 per day, she needs to by nippy. Carrying up to 8,500 cars on 13 decks, each car is held in place by four nylon ties just a few inches from its neighbour – four inches of headroom and an impressive damage record of around 0.4%. This ten year old giant weighs in at a gross tonnage 59,217, length 199 metres, width 32 metres and a draught of 9.3 metres. No sooner than my busy chum had passed than two ladies appeared on the AIS in a direct behind me. Buses and policemen came to mind. Time to turn left back to my original track to get out of their way, they were two Australian Navy warships each 231 metres in length and the same beam as my chum friend – big ladies. After all that I settled to listen to some music and six o’clock came at me like a speeding train.

Pepe went to bed, a short sleep as we would be in to Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island in a couple of hours. I too had fun with a warship.

I think this lady called 304 was using me as imaginary target practice – I hope.

Around the last corner and sadly time to wake the soundo first mate.