AN EXCLUSION zone has been declared for waters around Darwin Port’s No. 1 berth for a US Navy and Australian Defence Forces exercise from 24 March to 3 April.
Around 2500 US Marines and sailors are arriving in Darwin to work alongside Australian Defence Force personnel to drill humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, non-combatant evacuations, embassy reinforcements, expeditionary operations and rapid deployment of forces.
The specific vessels arriving haven’t been named, but typically include a variety of naval and amphibious assets.
A statement from the Port of Darwin said the waters surrounding berth No. 1 at East Arm Wharf (EAW) will be closed from 1400 hours on 24 March to 1000 hours on 3 April.
The boundary of the exclusion zone will be monitored by Northern Territory Police on a 24/7 basis.
“Port users must follow the directions of NT Police. Failure to follow these directions may result in removal from the area and/or arrest,” the notice said.
The western boundary of the exclusion zone is 250m chainage mark along EAW (Point A), extending in a SSW direction to Point B, then SSE to point C, then ESE to Point D, before extending north to Point E.
“Persons and vessels are required to keep clear of the closed waters for security reasons.”
The exercise is the 14th annual rotation of the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin Marine Air-Ground Task Force.
The operation will span the Australian continent and extend to the Philippines, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and other regional security partners.
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