Around 40 professional lobster fishing vessel skippers have to wait another eight months for a vital piece of equipment to arrive at the Beachport boatyard.


The State Government does not expect a replacement straddle carrier to be operational until next May.


The previous apparatus broke down in mid-2022.


Mobile cranes have since been used at considerable expense at the Beachport boatyard in order to return the professional lobster vessels to the ocean for the 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons.


Two large cranes manned by four personnel manoeuvre each boat from their winter resting place into position on the slipway where they can be winched by cables into the water.


The task is usually undertaken by Department of Infrastructure and Transport personnel who man a straddle carrier with slings.


The reverse applies at the end of each fishing season.


Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis told State Parliament last week that his departmental personnel had completed an open market procurement for the supply of a brand-new 60-tonne straddle carrier.


“I expect that contract fabrication delivery of a new straddle carrier be executed by the end of September,” Minister Koutsantonis said.


“I expect to have it fully operational by May 2025.


“The Beachport Professional Fishermen’s Association has been involved in developing the specifications for the unit on which procurement was based.


“Once the contract has been executed, the department will advise all the stakeholders, including the local member of parliament Nick McBride and provide further details and particulars of that unit.”


The minister was responding to a query from Mr McBride.


The State Government is out of pocket as each fisher only pays an all-inclusive storage fee of around $5500 each year.


The storage fee entitles the recipient to boat storage, four slippages into Rivoli Bay, four yard shifts using the straddle carrier and unlimited use of the dirty work area for one year.