Dredging works have begun on the A$127 million (US$88 million) shipping development project on Trinity Inlet in Cairns.
The dredging is expected to take 12 weeks and is to be completed by mid-September. One dredger will be tasked with removing soft clays from the channel while a second dredger, scheduled to arrive in mid-July, will be used to remove stiff clays.
Member for Cairns, Michael Healy MP, said in a statement that cruise ships of up to 300 metres in length would be able to enter Cairns Port once the shipping development project becomes operational.