Marina service
Melbourne City Marina
About
Melbourne City Marina at a glance
48-berth marina on Melbourne's premier harbour at NewQuay, Docklands, the closest marina to the CBD, with fully serviced berths for vessels 35ft and over; one of few Melbourne marinas accepting liveaboards.
Service area: Port Phillip Bay (Melbourne)
- Marina type
- government/transport wharf-marina
- Operator
- City of Melbourne
- Region
- Port Phillip Bay (Melbourne)
- Water body
- Victoria Harbour, Yarra River
- Wet berths
- 38
- Maximum vessel
- 60 m
- Berth types
- casual berthing, permanent berthing, liveaboard
Facilities and services
- pump-out
- 24/7 security
- power & water
- wifi
- showers & laundry
- superyacht berthing
- liveaboard accepted
- marina lounge hire
- meeting room hire
- day berthing (free 4hr)
- group bookings
- metered power
About Melbourne City Marina
Melbourne City Marina sits on Victoria Harbour at NewQuay in Docklands, the closest marina to Melbourne's CBD and the only genuinely city-centre berthing option on the Yarra system. Operated by the City of Melbourne, it has evolved from a modest council marina into what is now branded the Melbourne City and Superyacht Marina: a floating basin with 38-plus serviced berths for private craft alongside dedicated superyacht berthing rated for vessels to 65 metres and 1,350 tonnes displacement, and the marina has hosted yachts approaching 100 metres during major events. The setting is unmistakably urban. Marvel Stadium looms over the harbour, the NewQuay promenade wraps the waterline with restaurants, and the free tram zone starts a few hundred metres from the gangway. It is also one of the very few Melbourne marinas that accepts liveaboards, giving the pontoons a settled, year-round residential layer beneath the visitor trade. The precinct dates from the Docklands redevelopment of the 1990s and 2000s, and the marina functions as the harbour's front door: tall ships, defence vessels and superyachts tie up here for New Year's Eve, Australia Day and boat-show weekends, when nightly berth rates nearly triple. An on-water lounge with floor-to-ceiling glass over the harbour doubles as a hireable function space, which says much about the place: half working marina, half civic venue, run on a booking portal rather than a club handshake. Council ownership keeps the pricing published and the rules plain, which visiting skippers appreciate after the negotiated tariffs of commercial city marinas elsewhere. The clientele shifts with the seasons: interstate cruisers in summer, liveaboard locals year-round, and superyachts whenever the event calendar fires.
Marina facilities
Every visitor berth is a secure floating pontoon pen behind security gates, with 15-amp power, potable water, 24-hour CCTV and daily dock walks by marina staff; vessels are generally limited to 20 metres and 6 metres beam on the standard berths, with larger craft directed to the superyacht berths. Published 2026-27 visitor rates run from $52 a night under 6 metres to $144 a night for 20.1 to 25 metres, with New Year's Eve rates from $124 to $381; superyacht berthing is charged per metre per day, from $7 to $20.60 depending on length, and power for large vessels is metered at 50 cents per kilowatt-hour. Visitor stays are capped at 30 days per booking, and half or full-marina group bookings cost $1,030 and $1,700 a night respectively, reflecting the event trade. A free sewage pump-out, wifi, showers, toilets and laundry are included, and day visitors can berth free for up to four hours before 4pm by registering with the office. Bookings run through an online portal that issues gate and lounge access codes on payment; arriving without a booking risks an invoice, as cameras cover the pontoons around the clock. The marina lounge, with kitchen, barbecue deck and harbour views, is available for public dry hire from April to October, and a boardroom-style Harbour View meeting room rents by the hour. The office at Unit 120, 439 Docklands Drive opens Monday to Saturday. There is no fuel dock; vessels under 25 metres refuel at d'Albora Pier 35 downriver. Long-term and liveaboard arrangements are handled directly with the Waterways team.
Local sailing knowledge
Getting here is half the experience. From Port Phillip you enter the Yarra through the Port of Melbourne shipping channel, keeping clear of container ships, tugs and the Spirit of Tasmania, pass under the Westgate Bridge and swing into Victoria Harbour opposite the NewQuay waterfront. Depths are generous by river standards and the harbour is sheltered in nearly all weather, but wash rules and commercial traffic demand attention, and the City of Melbourne publishes a Navigate the Port guide worth reading before the first run. Once berthed, the location is the point: Marvel Stadium is across the water, the District Docklands shops and NewQuay's restaurants line the promenade, and the free tram zone puts Bourke Street ten minutes away. New Year's Eve and Australia Day see the basin booked out at premium event rates, with the city fireworks overhead. For cruising, the marina is the logical base for the lower Yarra; upriver, Yarra's Edge marina offers a second council-run option between Bolte Bridge and Crown, while downriver Williamstown's anchorage and the bay's southern clubs are easy day runs. Provisioning is excellent, with supermarkets and the Docklands precinct on foot. Liveaboards form a small permanent community here, unusual in Victoria, and visiting interstate and international yachts use the 30-day visitor allowance as a Melbourne base. Security is tight but the waterfront promenade is public, so gear should be locked away from the gangways. Wash from passing river traffic is the main onboard annoyance, so spring lines are worth the effort. Fishing is not the point here, but the lower Yarra does hold bream, and kayakers share the harbour on calm mornings.