Port Albert
Port Albert is one of the oldest ports in Victoria and, NGA says, the main fishing port of Bass Strait. It sits behind a maze of low islands and sandbanks, and you reach it over a shallow ocean bar that moves. It's a place to visit with local advice and a fair tide, not one to find your own way into.
- 1Port Albert boat ramp · OSM.
- 2Port Albert · OSM (Nominatim).
At a glance
| What it is | Small fishing port behind the Nooramunga islands |
| Entrance | About 0.5 mile wide, between Snake Island and Clonmel Island (NGA) |
| Outer bar | About 2 to 3 m, changing (Gippsland Ports) |
| Channel | Port Albert Channel: up to 3 m draught on a favourable tide |
| Port manager | Gippsland Ports; rules in VOZR Schedule 132 |
Getting in
- Marine Radio Victoria monitors VHF 16 (67 is the alternative) 24 hours a day, out to 20 nm off the Victorian coast
- Emergency: VHF 16 or Triple Zero (000)
Local knowledge first. Gippsland Ports says don't try the Port Albert bar without local knowledge, and then take the greatest care. The entrance channel and bar change in position and depth as the shoals move, and depths around the outer bar channel are about 2 to 3 m. NGA goes further: boats without local knowledge shouldn't attempt to enter, and the entrance buoys can be washed away because they're so exposed.
The entrance. NGA puts the main entrance between the east end of Snake Island and the south-west end of Clonmel Island. Bar Bank, which dries, runs about 1.5 miles SSE from the north-east end of Snake Island. A starboard lateral buoy now marks the edge of Clonmel Spit at the entrance to Port Albert Channel (Gippsland Ports NTM 057 of 2026).
The channel in. Port Albert Channel takes boats of up to 3 m draught in favourable tidal conditions, with shoaling near beacons 9 and 11 (Gippsland Ports). NGA's least depth for the main channel, 1.8 m, dates from a 1964 survey, so treat it as history. Midge Channel (unlit piles) and South (Snake) Channel are usable by recreational craft at all tides; the Old Port and Albert River channels are buoyed but tide-limited.
Kate Kearney Entrance. About 4.5 miles NE of the main entrance, Kate Kearney has no marks and Gippsland Ports calls it very dangerous; its channels change in depth and course. Shoal Inlet, further east, now has a second natural ocean entrance (Local Navigation Warning 8 of 2026, 29 September 2026).
Tides and weather
Gippsland Ports warns that wind direction and duration have a big effect on water levels and tidal streams here. It's a high-energy area, with strong currents at the entrances, severe seas on the shallow bar outside, and strong westerlies, southerlies and easterlies. Carry the tide tables, and use Gippsland Ports' Port Welshpool tide gauge for real-time levels.
Facilities
- Fuel. By prior appointment with the local fuel distributor (Gippsland Ports).
- Ramp. OpenStreetMap shows the boat ramp in town.
Victorian rules in brief
- Heightened risk. On vessels up to 12 m underway, the Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook counts these among the times of heightened risk: crossing an ocean bar, boating in a Designated Hazardous Area (Port Phillip Heads is one), boating from an hour after sunset to an hour before sunrise, in restricted visibility, or where a gale, storm force or severe weather warning is current. Lifejacket rules are tighter then; check the handbook's tables for your boat.
- Warnings. The Bureau of Meteorology issues strong wind (26 to 33 kn), gale (34 to 47 kn) and storm force (48 kn and over) warnings. Safe Transport Victoria strongly advises small craft not to go out when one is current.
- Radio. Marine Radio Victoria monitors VHF 16 (67 alternative) 24/7 out to 20 nm, gives forecasts twice daily, and broadcasts current warnings on VHF 67 at 48 minutes past every even hour (the first at 00:47), eastern standard time (handbook).
Ashore
What's within about a 15-minute walk (1.2 km) of each marina, ramp or landing on this page, measured along streets and footpaths in OpenStreetMap. Addresses are from OpenStreetMap where it has one; where it doesn't, we show the name and distance only. Listings as fetched from OpenStreetMap on 28 October 2026; check opening hours before you walk.
From Port Albert boat ramp (boat ramp / dinghy landing)
| Name | Type | Walk | Street address (OSM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and cafes | |||
| Port Albert café and wine bar | Cafe | 270 m | – |
| Fish n Chip Co | Takeaway | 640 m | – |
| Entertainment | |||
| Port Albert Maritime Museum | Museum | 280 m | – |
| Supermarkets and provisioning | |||
| fresh Seafoods | Seafood shop | 390 m | – |
No marine stores or chandlers are mapped in OpenStreetMap within the walk.
Places, types, addresses and walking distances: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), fetched 28 October 2026.
About this page
These are free planning notes written by a working delivery skipper from public sources. They are not for navigation. Use the official chart, the current notices to mariners from the Victorian port managers, official tide tables and local advice. Spotted something out of date? Please use Report a correction below.
Official links
Check these before you go. They beat anything on this page.
- Gippsland Ports: Port of Corner Inlet & Port Albert
- Gippsland Ports notices to mariners
- Bureau of Meteorology: Victorian tide tables
- Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook (Safe Transport Victoria, PDF)
- Bureau of Meteorology: coastal waters forecasts
- Bureau of Meteorology: warnings (incl. marine wind warnings)
- Bureau of Meteorology: tide predictions
- Marine Search and Rescue unit locations (vic.gov.au)
Sources & credits
Written in our own words from the Gippsland Ports Port of Corner Inlet & Port Albert page, the Gippsland Ports ocean bars page and current Gippsland Ports notices, NGA Pub. 127 Sailing Directions (Enroute) South and East Coasts of Australia, 16th edition (2025, corrected to 30 July 2026), the Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook (Safe Transport Victoria, 2024 edition), the vic.gov.au Marine Search and Rescue unit list and OpenStreetMap, all read on 28 October 2026. NGA Pub. 127 Sector 2 (2.35) for the entrance description; its channel depth is from a 1964 survey.
Parks Victoria. Facts from the Parks Victoria notices to mariners, the Port Phillip and Western Port Recreational Boating Guides, the boating and swimming zones pages and the Gabo Island, Refuge Cove and Wilsons Promontory pages, restated and summarised in our own words. Parks Victoria web content is CC BY 4.0 unless marked otherwise; the boating guides and notices are linked, not reproduced. Not endorsed by Parks Victoria.
Gippsland Ports. Facts from Gippsland Ports notices to mariners, navigation warnings, local navigation notices and port pages, cited for fact only and linked, not reproduced. The current notices prevail.
Ports Victoria. Notices to mariners for the ports of Melbourne, Geelong and Hastings, cited for fact only.
Safe Transport Victoria. Facts from the Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook (2024 edition), restated in our own words and linked, not reproduced. The handbook and the Marine Safety Act 2010 and its regulations prevail.
Bureau of Meteorology. Tide, tidal stream and forecast pages are linked, not reproduced; the Port Phillip Heads slack-water guidance is summarised.
NGA. Background from NGA Pub. 127, Sailing Directions (Enroute) South and East Coasts of Australia, U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a US Government work in the public domain. Parts of it are old; where a page leans on it, we say so. Not endorsed by NGA.
OpenStreetMap. Map tiles, facility positions and the Ashore lists © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Victorian Government. Marine search and rescue units from the vic.gov.au unit list, checked on the date shown in the rescue box.
Last checked: 28 October 2026.
Need a boat moved to or from Port Albert?
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