Hopes new Bass Strait service will lead to cheaper shipping for farmers

There will be a "big change" for cattle producers on Bass Strait islands when a new Victorian depot is complete that will allow shipping to bypass mainland Tasmania, a local freight service says.

Bass Strait Freight operator David Harris says he is responding to farmer demand by developing a new service to a terminal at Port Anthony, in South Gippsland, that could take up to 40,000 cattle a year from King and Flinders islands.

"There are now 15,000 breeders on Flinders Island where the owners of those cattle have farms in Victoria,"

Mr Harris said.

"We are taking all those cattle north and so the trend is there, we just have to respond to it.

"We're quite optimistic that it'll be a make-or-break for our company and it'll be a big change for the way cattle are taken from the islands."

The new service is expected to be cheaper for farmers by reducing reliance on Bass Strait Freight's home port at Bridport, in northern Tasmania, and the headaches that come with its shallow channel.

The service direct to Port Anthony will take 15 hours and is expected to be up and running by the end of October.

The privately owned Victorian port at Corner Inlet is co-investing in the berth and livestock facilities along with Mr Harris.

Mr Harris has already been running services from King and Flinders islands to Port Welshpool, not far from Port Anthony, but he said it had its limitations.

"That facility doesn't allow you to consolidate freight," he said.

"So we think we can drop the cost price of cattle and general freight by about 50 per cent by going direct to the [Australian] mainland."

Avoiding Bridport's shallow channel

Bass Strait Freight has been pushing to secure a regular direct shipping route from King and Flinders islands to Victoria for some years.

Its bid to reinstate port access at Apollo Bay, a service that existed for more than a decade until 2022, was unsuccessful.

Sailing vessels through the shallow channel into the port of Bridport has caused massive headaches for Mr Harris too.

It is so shallow that most large boats have only a half-hour window either side of high tide to cross it.

Bass Strait Freight has purchased two excavators to better maintain the channel, but Mr Harris admits it is not a permanent solution.

"After 32 years of operations, with the sand building up outside the existing entrance, there won't be a regular shipping service from Bridport to Flinders Island if we can't get the channel realigned," he said.

"That's why we are setting up Plan B to service the island from the north."

Mr Harris said there was also potential to source cattle from northern Tasmania.

Livestock and freight will travel on the modified Matthew Flinders IV, which will be permanently based at Port Anthony.

He said this vessel was much more vulnerable to running aground when entering the harbour at Bridport.

Cattle markets changing

Farmers on King and Flinders islands produce roughly half of Tasmania's total cattle herd.

Pricing and seasonal conditions dictate where those cattle end up each year.

A number of beef producers on both islands have expanded their herds.

They are purchasing more land locally and some are finishing stock on farms and feedlots interstate.

The plan by Mr Harris to shift larger numbers of cattle from King and Flinders islands north, bypassing mainland Tasmania, has its detractors across the local beef industry. 

But Flinders farmer Nick Campion believes the benefits will stack up in the long run.

"When we go north, we're not dealing with a tidal port,"

Mr Campion said.

"So even though it's 16 hours rather than eight hours back to Tassie, we can turn that boat around straight away and come back.

"The larger producers have already developed their markets and systems around taking their stock north.

"It will only add to Tasmania; it will not detract," he said.