The Desalination ocean drilling rig in Frenchman’s Bay. The four pillars of the Seafox 6 reaches 65m above sea level, equivalent to a 22-storey building. Over the next 6 months, the jack-up barge will be deployed between 200m and 300m off Cape Solander - 2.5km seaward of the desalination plant site at Kurnell. It will spend six months drilling eight inlet and outlet shafts, up to 20m below the sea bed, to connect with the tunnels from the plant. The barge has been leased from a Dutch company and was towed from Singapore at 7km/h, arriving in Newcastle in February. Its arms will be extended downward to the ocean floor and the barge’s platform will be raised to about 10m above sea level. The drill is encased in steel and all sediment will travel upwards to the platform, to be stored in containers and later removed to minimise the environmental impact.
Minister for Desal, Nathan Rees has said that whales would avoid the structure when they return from northern waters in spring. “I have every confidence the whales will swim around it,” he said.
The total cost of the desalination project is estimated at $1.9 billion.