Bustling maritime open day

l PORTSMITH

THREE hundred people have signed up to explore maritime careers after an open day at Portsmith last weekend.

More than 1000 visitors attended the Cairns Maritime Careers Open Day to explore the opportunities the marine industry has to offer.

The event, developed by Cairns Chamber of Commerce as host of the Cairns Regional Jobs Committee, was deemed a great success, with a quarter of the participants registering a career-seeking profile through the Marine Jobs platform.

Cairns Chamber of Commerce chief executive Patricia O’Neill said the committee was “overwhelmed with the volume of attendees of all ages and experience levels who attended the event eager to start working or skilling up for their next work adventure”.

said. “He was the force behind new technology implementation at Pease St, Manoora, to ensure better stock supplies, expand the range and better meet the needs of local shoppers,” she said.

“He was recently promoted to store manager of IGA Pease Street and continues to implement new strategies.”

TAFE’s Great Barrier Reef International Marine College in Tingara St came to life on Saturday, May 13, after 1228 visitors attended the careers day, where 30 businesses displayed the career opportunities in the sector and 70-plus were also advertised.

Marine Jobs maritime industry skill advisor Adam Chanter said “out of the 1200 people that registered for attendance, 300 created a career seeker profile through the Marine Jobs platform.”

Navy’s oldest ships farewelled

l PORTSMITH

| Isabella Guzman Gonzalez

THE Navy’s oldest vessels

– HMAS Benalla and Shepparton – have berthed for the final time at HMAS Cairns before their official decommissioning in June.

After 30 years of service and data collection necessary for creating military products for safety navigation, the two ships will be demilitarised before being offered for sale.

The ships are the last of the Paluma Class to serve, with HMAS Paluma and Mermaid retiring in 2021. HMAS

Shepparton entered service in 1990 and has held the title of ‘First Lady of the Fleet’ for the past two years as the oldest ship in the Australian Navy fleet.

The 36m-long ships formed part of the Navy’s hydrographic survey fleet, working in pairs to map the ocean floor and hydrographic charting.

HMAS Shepparton commanding officer LCDR Benjamin Stevenson said the final arrival into Cairns was a sad and proud moment, but new and more advanced capabilities were being introduced. “That includes remotely operated vehicles as well new generation vessels featuring adaptive mine countermeasures and military survey capability,” said LCDR Stevenson.

HMAS Benalla

Commanding Officer LCDR

Michael Casey said the crews of the two ships spent a final night together sailing around Fitzroy Island, enjoying one last deck barbecue.

“The two ships and those who served on them have served proudly and with honour, but it’s now time for the next evolutionary step effect to meet the growing threat of mines and to better develop maritime environmental knowledge in support of operations,” said LCDR Casey.