How many diving platforms / pontoons are on the GBR?

[circusoflife]

Some years ago I went to the Quicksilver pontoon/platform on the Agincourt Reef. Also a pontoon on the Moore Reef off Cairns (Reef Magic?). Just curious -- how many of these have been constructed - does someone have a list? Are they moveable or permanent?

 

[diver257a]

Hi Circusoflife,

The following link will take you to this paper:

Smith, A., Monkivitch, J., Koloi, P., Hamilton, G. and Myers, S., 2005, A review of Environmental Impact Assessment of tourism pontoons on the Great Barrier Reef, Environmental Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ) Conference Working on the Frontier - Environmental Sustainability in Practice, Hotel Grand Chancellor, Christchurch, 29 March-1 April, 2005.:

http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/info_services/library/resources/staff_papers/getfpdf.html%3Fid%3D2651&sa=U&ei=PlkgT9K8D-nXmAX8x8GmDg&ved=0CAgQFjAC&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNFLlvpxv-AFQjfdELfW5NlqtqqL6g.

The paper states that in ‘January 2005 there were 37 permitted tourism, helicopter and other special purpose pontoons in the offshore waters of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park’ while Appendix 1 lists all of them plus 2 that were being applied for at the time.

 

[Aquapro Dive Services]

Out of Cairns Great Advemtures have 2. One on Norman and one on Moore Reef. They use Moore as a back up.

Reef Magic have one at Moore Reef and Sunlover have 1 also on Moore Reef. That's it out of Cairns.

From Port Douglas there is only one I believe at Agincourt for Quicksilver.

As for further south of Cairns I don't know.

They are held in place by chains to mooring blocks at each corner, so technically firm.

In the event of a cyclone the chains are released so the pontoon can spin on a central mooring and thus not smash into the Reef.

If needed they can be released and be towed back to Port for maintenance, so are not solid structures fixed to the sea floor. Have to be able to move with the tides.

 

[circusoflife]

thanks for the replies! Just what I was looking for!