Marina service
Pier 21 Marina
About
Pier 21 Marina at a glance
Privately operated marina on the northern bank of the Swan River at North Fremantle, 3 km from the river mouth, with 176 fixed and floating pens from 7 m to 24 m, 15-amp power to each pen, free ice and 24-hour secure parking.
Service area: Perth Metro
- Marina type
- full-service marina
- Operator
- Pier 21 Marina (private)
- Region
- Perth Metro
- Water body
- Swan River
- Wet berths
- 176
- Maximum vessel
- 24 m
- Berth types
- casual berthing, permanent berthing
Facilities and services
- fuel
- power & water
- wifi
- 24/7 security
- showers & laundry
- ice
- free ice
- electronic-key 24-hour secure parking
- weekday staffed office
- adjacent apartment hotel (restaurant, pools, gym)
- short-term and long-term pen licences
- redevelopment of site flagged by owner KBH Group
About Pier 21 Marina
Pier 21 Marina is the only substantial private marina on the northern bank of the lower Swan River, sitting off John Street in North Fremantle about three kilometres upstream of the river mouth. The position is its strongest selling point: pen holders get the calm, tannin-dark water of the Swan at their doorstep yet can be past Rous Head and into open ocean within fifteen minutes of casting off. The marina shares its address with the Pier 21 Apartment Hotel, and the two operations give the site the feel of a small waterfront resort precinct rather than a bare boat park, with hotel balconies looking down over the pens. KBH Group acquired the marina in September 2014 and has run it since as a long-term investment, undertaking steady upgrades and maintenance while flagging a broader redevelopment of the site on its website. The fleet is dominated by motor boats between 7 and 24 metres, a mix of river cruisers, Rottnest runners and game boats, berthed in a combination of fixed and floating pens along wide jetties. Unlike the council and club marinas that dominate the Perth coast, Pier 21 operates as a commercial landlord, selling short-term and long-term pen licences and staffing the office on weekdays. That commercial footing, combined with the hotel next door, attracts owners who want an unattended, low-fuss berth with secure parking rather than a sailing community, and it also draws visiting boat owners who base themselves in the apartments while their vessel sits in a pen below. With Fremantle's working port directly across the water, the outlook is industrial-maritime rather than manicured: tugs, pilot boats and container ships pass within view, which is part of the appeal for people who like their boating with a working-harbour backdrop.
Marina facilities
The marina offers around 175 rentable pens, a mixture of fixed and floating berths sized for vessels from 7 to 24 metres, all reached by wide, clean jetty walkways. Every pen has a permanent 15-amp single-phase power connection and water, and free ice is available to pen holders, a small but practical touch for boats heading offshore. Parking is a genuine differentiator: a 24-hour secure car park with electronic key access sits beside the marina, so owners can leave vehicles for extended periods while away on the boat. Showers, toilets and laundry facilities serve pen holders, free wifi covers the site, and the office is staffed during the week for arrivals, maintenance coordination and security oversight. Pens are let on both short-term and long-term arrangements, which makes the marina one of the more accessible casual berthing options on the lower Swan for visiting craft under 24 metres. Fuel is listed among the marina's services in published directories; in practice the nearest full fuelling berth is Molfetta Quay in the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour just downstream, where Baileys Marine Fuels dispenses diesel and unleaded petrol around the clock on a fuel-card system (phone 1300 224 539). There is no travel lift, slipway or hardstand within Pier 21 itself; haul-outs and refit work are handled a kilometre or two away at the Northport marine services precinct at Rous Head, where SFM Marine operates lift, launch, spray-down and refit facilities, or at the boat lifters in the Fishing Boat Harbour such as Blue HQ. The adjoining Pier 21 Apartment Hotel effectively extends the amenity list: pen holders and their guests can use the breakfast lounge, restaurant, pools and gym, and family can stay on site during boat works. A redevelopment of the marina site has been flagged by the owner, though berthing operations continue as normal in the meantime.
Local sailing knowledge
The run to sea from Pier 21 could hardly be simpler. Three kilometres downstream the Swan meets the Indian Ocean between the North and South Moles; from there Rottnest Island is roughly 25 kilometres across Gage Roads, with Carnac and Garden islands to the south. The river reach past the marina carries commercial traffic, including tugs, barges and ships manoeuvring to the Inner Harbour berths, so skippers should keep a proper lookout and mind their wash near the marina's fixed pens. Upstream, the Swan offers days of sheltered cruising past East Fremantle's yacht clubs, Bicton, Point Walter and on to Perth Water, but mast-up yachts need to check air draft against the bridges; the old Fremantle Traffic Bridge in particular limits what can pass, and its replacement project has altered navigation arrangements in recent years. Speed limits apply along much of the river and are policed. Ashore, North Fremantle has become a good provisioning stop: cafes and small bars line Queen Victoria Street and Stirling Highway within walking distance, the North Fremantle train station connects to both Fremantle and Perth, and the Cottesloe and Leighton beach strip is a short hop for a swim. For larger shopping runs, central Fremantle is a few minutes by car over the bridge. Visiting crews often use the marina as a base for the islands: fuel and ice on the way out, an overnight anchor at Rottnest's Thomson Bay or a booked mooring at Carnac, then back into the pen with the secure car park waiting. Winter fronts can send surge up the lower river, and the fixed-pen berths feel it more than the floating ones, so lines and fenders deserve attention ahead of strong westerly weather.