Concerns over blasting to build a ship channel are growing amongst environmentalists regarding the LNG plant that InpEX Corporation will build in Darwin Harbour.
The company needs to blast away rock to make a new shipping channel for its gas plant.
The plan includes setting off three explosions a day for up to 14 months which would mean about 1,300 blasts to remove the Walker Shoal that currently blocks the larger ships from entering the mouth of the harbour.
120,000 cubic meters of rock will need to be blasted and conservationists and anglers have begun studying the environmental issues that must be considered. Inpex says if its project goes ahead, it will monitor the harbour to ensure no dolphins, dugongs or turtles are killed.
The Amateur Fishermen's Association representative Chris Makepeace is glad that Inpex has chosen a shorter loading jetty for its planned gas plant. This would mean that the access to the Catalina Creek would not be blocked.