Experts say a new port could replace the USA military’s main fuelling station in the Pacific region after the closure of a storage facility at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii.

The federal budget allocated $1.5 billion to build “new port infrastructure, such as a wharf, an offloading facility and dredging of the shipping channel” in the Northern Territory.

Infrastructure Department Secretary Simon Atkinson told a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday the new port would be built at Middle Arm in Darwin Harbour.

The government has been in discussion with Defence officials for five months, the hearing was told, and the new port would be open to naval ships as well as private industry for minerals exports and energy exports.

Australian National University professor of defence studies, John Blaxland, said the USA would “no doubt” be looking to locations such as Darwin to bolster its fuel storage.

“It’s not unreasonable to say that additional facilities in and around Darwin will be dual-roled, they will be available for use by US forces,” Professor Blaxland said.

“Darwin is a frequently visited port for US warships transiting from East Coast USA to the Middle East, through the Pacific, across the Indian Ocean, as well as visits from the Seventh Fleet based in Japan.”

The USA military’s massive Red Hill facility, which stored 950 million litre of fuel in underground tanks, was closed down earlier this month due to groundwater contamination.

Up to 2200 US personnel will participate in the Marine Rotational Force Darwin (MRF-D), conducting crisis response exercises, engage with regional partners and more.

For the first time, US Army personnel will also deploy to work alongside the rotation.

MRF-D Commanding Officer Colonel Christopher Steele was excited for the rotation to begin.

“This year our Marines will be coming from Camp Pendleton in Southern California as the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force assumes this mission, working alongside our US Army and Australian Defence Force counterparts,” he said.

The Marines are expected to complete the rotation in Australia by October 2022.

A contingent of up to 2,200 U.S. Marines has begun arriving for a six-month rotation to Australia’s northern city of Darwin.

During their 11th deployment to Darwin since 2012, Marines will train with the Australian troops and other friendly forces to respond to a crisis in the region, the Marines said in their statement.

The force includes a command element from the 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, with most Marines coming from Southern California. They’re supported by a detachment from U.S. Army Pacific, the statement said.

Up to 2,200 Marines from Camp Pendleton, Calif., will be in Darwin until the rotation wraps up in October, according to a statement from the Australia Defence Department.

The Marines are restricted to their Australian bases for their first seven days and then tested for COVID-19

The 2022 MRF-D will see up to 2200 US personnel conduct combined training with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) including crisis response exercises and engagement with regional partners.

This year, for the first time, US Army personnel will deploy to work alongside and support the MRF-D.

The US Marines are expected to complete the rotation in Australia in October 2022.

MRF-D is one of the United States Force Posture Initiatives that sits alongside an expanded program of Enhanced Air Cooperation between the Royal Australian Air Force and United States Air Force.

The procedures for managing MRF-D’s arrival, border entry protocols and possible cases of COVID-19 have been developed and agreed in full consultation with NT Health authorities :|

300 million litres of American-owned jet fuel will soon be stored on the outskirts of Darwin, increasing speculation the USA is preparing to expand its military presence in the Northern Territory.

On the back of the announcement of AUKUS, an alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, the US charges d'affaires to Australia flagged a "bigger, more integrated, more ambitious" Marine Corps deployment.