Port fees drain businesses

Maritime companies in Johns Creek Harbour are angry about a rise in mooring rates for vessels serving the resources industry.

The companies, including resource construction specialists Global Marine, spoke out just weeks after bad weather forced two boats, moored outside the harbour in Port Samson to allegedly save on fees, onto rocks.

Global Marine manager Alex Jones said they felt "extraordinarily high" rates set by the Department of Transport for resource vessels had made it unaffordable for most businesses to keep their boats in the harbour.

He said many of the firms affected were already experiencing financial hardship, with little work available for construction barges in the area.

Mr Jones said his boat, The Dawn, would never have ended up on the rocks if it were not for the high mooring prices.

"We've been forced to move all our boats out of the harbour - it's just too expensive - and now two boats have ended up on the rocks," he said.

"It's lucky no one has been hurt and there's been no major environmental disaster, but one day it might and for what? Because DoT have made it too expensive for us to bring our boats into the harbour.

"To keep the boat on the rocks in the harbour is a little over $3000 a month and our largest vessel, The Surveyor, costs about $5000 to keep in the harbour and it's not working, full stop, there's just no work going on."

But a spokeswoman for Coastal Infrastructure and Marine Safety at the DoT said the fees and charges for the use of its harbour facilities were set fairly in line with user-pays principles.

"This facility compares favourably with adjacent ports and boat harbours in the region," she said.

Mr Jones said the harbour prices were substantially increased at the start of the mining and resources boom and there was no justification for rate increases while there was no work.

"We are 100 per cent the most expensive port in the whole of Western Australia. You tell me how a little port like this can be more expensive than a port like Fremantle. We are 60 per cent more expensive than Onslow and just behind that is Exmouth port who pay a whole lot less than us but have much better facilties."

Mr Jones said he had been forced to cut workers in the harbour from 30 to just two.