P&O Australia announced it is adding calls at Port Townsville (Queensland) from 2025.
The Carnival Corporation-owned company announced its plans during the launch of its 90th-anniversary celebration in Brisbane QLD.
P&O AU's Pacific Encounter ship will be homeported at Brisbane’s upgraded International Cruise Terminal.
According to a statement from the Queensland government, P&O AU is due to carry out 118+ ship calls across Queensland throughout 2023.
The state government said that the Townsville call was only made possible by the $251M channel upgrade at the Port.
The project will see the 14.9 km (9.3 mi) channel widened from 92 m (302 ft) to 180 m (590 ft) in width.
Due to be completed next year, the channel upgrade enables the port to accommodate bigger ships up to 300 m (984 ft) long.
The project is part of an AU$1.6 billion, 30-year expansion plan for the Port.