Ocean Passenger Terminal

The Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT), known officially as the Sydney Cove Passenger Terminal, is a public cruise ship and ocean liner transport infrastructure building located in Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia. Whilst commercial shipping operations on and around the site date from 1792, the current primary structure and waterfront promenade date from 1958, with subsequent on-going alterations and land reclamation throughout the latter part of the 20th century. The current design retains the black steel portal frame trusses of the original 1958 structure, with major additions completed in 1988 in the Post-War International Style through the collaboration of Sydney architects Lawrence Nield and Peter Tonkin. The building's main structure, the two remaining uniquely designed extendable gangways and an interior mural known as Foundations of European Settlement by Australian artist Arthur Murch are all listed as individual items of significance within the State Heritage Inventory by the New South Wales Heritage Office. Since 2006, the building and its surroundings have also been listed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site buffer zone for the Sydney Opera House. Today, the OPT maintains a significant public role as the only major passenger terminal east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. As such, it has been host to many major international cruise liners which are unable to clear the underside of the bridge, including the largest liner to dock at the OPT to date, the Queen Mary II. The OPT promenade and viewing platforms are open to the public when ships are not docked in the terminal and a series of dining and entertainment venues within the building serve as part of the OPT's secondary function.