| Bell Bay | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Bell Bay | |
  Bell Bay Location in Tasmania | |
| Location | |
| Location | Bell Bay, Tasmania |
| Coordinates | 41°07′50″S146°51′33″E / 41.130444°S 146.859199°E /-41.130444; 146.859199 |
| UN/LOCODE | AUBEL[1] |
| Details | |
| Operated by | TasPorts |
| Size | 2,000 hectares (20 km2) |
| No. ofberths | 12[2] |
| Draft depth | 11.2 m.[2] |
| Rail lines | Bell Bay |
| Rail gauge | 1067mm |
| Street access | East Tamar Highway |
| Truck types | B-Double |
| Statistics | |
| Annual cargotonnage | 3.6 million tonnes (2021) |
| AnnualTEU | 20,299 (2021) |
| Website www.tasports.com.au | |
Bell Bay is an industrial centre and port located on the eastern shore of theTamar River, in northernTasmania, Australia. It lies just south ofGeorge Town. In the year ended June 2021, 3.6 million tonnes of exports and imports passed through Bell Bay.[3]
Bell Bay Post Office opened on 18 September 1951 and closed in 1973.[4]
TheBell Bay Power Station was decommissioned in 2009, replaced by theTamar Valley Power Station built next door.[citation needed]
Bell Bay aluminium smelter started operating in 1955. As of June 2025[update] it is operated byRio Tinto[5] (previously byComalco).
Amanganese alloy smelter built byBHP, known as the Tasmanian Electro Metallurgical Company (TEMCO) opened on 11 May 1962[6] producesferromanganese and silicomanganese.[7][8] BHP sold the plant to aBilliton subsidiary, Samancor, in 1998. BHP merged with Billiton in 2001, and so TEMCO came under the company's ownership again.[6] In 2021 it was bought bySanjeev Gupta'sLiberty Steel Group (parent companyGFG Alliance), becoming known as Liberty Bell Bay. It is the only commercialferroalloy operation in Australia.[7][8] In May 2025 the smelter began a phased shutdown, due to a shortage of ore, beginning with a period of "limited operations". Tropical Cyclone Megan damaged infrastructure ofSouth32'sGEMCO, their main supplier of ore, in March 2024.[9][10] ThePremier of Tasmania,Jeremy Rockliff, requested assistance from the federal government in May 2025.[11] The smelter was scheduled to cease operating in mid-June for at least four weeks, with employees having to use up their leave.[12]
Bell Bay was connected to theTasmanian Government Railways network in May 1974, when the 35 kilometreBell Bay railway line opened, branching off the North East line at Nelson Creek to the north ofLaunceston.[13][14][15] Primarily built to carry logs for export, today it carriesintermodal containers to and from the port.[16]
The first Bell Bay wharf was opened in 1927.[17] As of June 2025[update] it has seven berths, which cater for cargo from the various industries in Bell Bay, along with others.[18]
41°07′00″S146°52′00″E / 41.11667°S 146.86667°E /-41.11667; 146.86667