Victorian Ports Corporation (Melbourne)

The Victorian Ports Corporation (Melbourne) (VPCM) is a statutory authority of the Government of Victoria created to succeed the Port of Melbourne Corporation as the government regulator of shipping in Port Phillip Bay after the lease of the Port of Melbourne in 2016. In 2021, it was merged with the Victorian Regional Channels Authority into a new agency, Ports Victoria.

History
In mid-2015, the government of Premier Daniel Andrews announced that the Port of Melbourne would be leased to a private operator, in order to fund a program of level crossing removals, with the government remaining the landowner.

In August 2016, with negotiations on the lease underway, the Victorian Ports Corporation (Melbourne) was introduced as the agency which would perform the government's remaining functions in the operation of the port, including management of the shipping channels in Port Phillip Bay, waterside emergency services, and the operation of the Station Pier facility for cruise shipping. The government appointed Rachel Johnson, formerly of Transport for NSW as the VPCM's inaugural chief executive officer and announced that she would report to the Port of Melbourne Corporation until it was privatised. On 19 September, the government finalised the 50-year lease of the port to a corporation comprising the Queensland Investment Corporation, the Future Fund of the Australian government, the Canadian firm OMERS and the United States fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners for an upfront payment of A$9.7 billion.

Minister for Ports Luke Donnellan announced the appointment of a board of directors on 3 November 2016.

With the establishment of Transport for Victoria in mid-2017, VPCM became one of its subsidiary agencies. In May 2017, after the release of a report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau into the breakaway of the Spirit of Tasmania II from its moorings at Station Pier, the VPCM announced a new weather warnings service on its traffic management radio channel.

The role of VPCM was examined by a review of the Victorian port system in 2020. In March 2021, the state government announced that VPCM would be merged with the Victorian Regional Channels Authority into a new agency, Ports Victoria, to provide channel management and regulatory services across all Victoria's commercial ports.

Operations
The VPCM is required to promote and market the Port of Melbourne, in addition to its function as the regulator and provider of navigation services within the port. This role includes the employment of a Harbourmaster to oversee port operations, and the engagement of other maritime contractors.