Department’s work helps stage safer SailGP event

The inaugural Perth Sail Grand Prix event at Fremantle in January highlights the important role the Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure (DTMI) plays in the approval and staging of safe on-water events in WA.

As part of the formal approval process for SailGP, DTMI considered a range of issues including safety risks above and below the waterline prior to its endorsement of the event at Bathers Beach on 17 and 18 January 2026.

In a first for an aquatic event approval in WA, the Department undertook detailed three-dimensional mapping of the seabed off Fremantle and provided the results to organisers to make the event safer for competitors and officials.

Department technicians combined traditional hydrographic sonar data showing water depths with drone captured high resolution laser scan data, known as LiDAR, to produce a very detailed 3D computer model of the racecourse and surrounding seabed showing known areas of concern including the location of the enduring underwater piles of the original Fremantle Long Jetty extending west from Bathers Beach and also the depth of water around the breakwaters at South Mole and Challenger Boat Harbour

The 3D fly through gives organisers greater confidence to safely manage this large international event.