Port Darwin, Maritime port in Northern Territory, Australia

Port Darwin is Australia's most northerly commercial port, operating at Stokes Hill Wharf, Cullen Bay and East Arm Wharf. East Arm Wharf, opened in 2000, can take Panamax ships up to 274 metres long and 80,000 tonnes deadweight. The photograph shows a tall dark steel lattice crane boom leaning right above a pale grey concrete base, with a box-like steel housing to its left and a horizontal gantry arm with a hanging hoist.

Port Darwin operated first at Stokes Hill Wharf, which served as its main location and comprised three successive wharves. East Arm Wharf opened in 2000, able to handle Panamax ships up to 274 metres long and 80,000 tonnes deadweight. In October 2015 the Northern Territory government, under Chief Minister Adam Giles, granted the Chinese-owned Landbridge Group a 99-year lease for $506 million, with a promised $200 million investment over 25 years.

Port Darwin takes its name from the harbour surveyed by HMS Beagle in 1839, named after Charles Darwin, who had sailed on the ship's earlier voyage. The 2015 lease to the Shandong Landbridge Group, owned by Ye Cheng, made the port a subject of national debate, and in May 2026 the company filed a case at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes over the forced sale.

Port Darwin has no single public waterfront: Stokes Hill Wharf, Cullen Bay and East Arm Wharf are separate sites, and East Arm, opened in 2000, lies away from the city centre. East Arm takes Panamax ships up to 274 metres long and 80,000 tonnes deadweight. Access to working wharves is restricted, so check which site you mean before setting out.

In 2015, the port was leased to the Landbridge Group for 99 years, placing it under Chinese operational control and making it a key junction for Australia-Asia trade. This arrangement highlights how central Darwin's location is to economic ties in the region.