In its first season as a cruise vessel First Port, Melbourne's Station Pier has become the centre of attention. The Melbourne public has shown an appetite for cruising with 136,000 passengers and 46,000 crew being screened by AQIS via mobile X-ray, detector dogs and direct officer intervention.

Fifty-six cruise vessels passed through the Port over the summer season and eight full vessel turnarounds (passengers fully embarking then disembarking from the same port) were conducted. On average 2,000 passengers disembarked off each arrival.

Although Station Pier was not originally designed as a passenger processing facility, key ports stakeholders and AQIS have developed efficient passenger processing systems; designed to cope with large numbers and tight timelines. Unlike airports, which impose strict baggage limits, there are no weight or size restrictions on cruise ship luggage which creates manual handling and occupational health and safety challenges for staff from the various agencies.

Regional Shipping staff have also been involved in multiple 'boardings-at-sea' at Cowes (Phillip Island) where a minimum of two staff monitor the movement of passengers onto charter boats in order to control the potential risk of quarantine risk material leaving the vessel.

This was the busiest ever season for Station Pier. AQIS officers contributed directly to Melbourne's ranking as the number one port in Australia for processing times and efficiency. AQIS also assisted the Port of Melbourne to achieve the ranking of number five port in the world for Princess Cruise Lines.

This is an outstanding achievement and demonstrates the close and mutually beneficial working relationship between AQIS and key industry stakeholders in achieving world class processing standards.