Staff from the Port of Darwin regularly attend defence operational briefings and the facility plays a key role in the movement of military equipment through northern Australia, according to its annual report which appears to directly contradict Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's assertion it is not "a military port".
The Corporation's 2014 annual report disclosed the arrival of 102 naval vessels at the Port of Darwin during the year, up 45 per cent on the previous period. 
It also identified Darwin as a "strategic defence port" and singled out defence industries as a key area of future growth for the Corporation.
"Darwin is one of Australia's strategic defence ports and the Corporation continues to build ongoing strong relationships with defence stakeholders and provide access and services at Fort Hill Wharf for increasing numbers of visiting Australian and foreign flagged naval vessels," wrote chief executive Terry O'Connor.
These disclosures are likely to further embarrass the federal government, which has been scrambling to explain its approval of a 99 year lease over the Darwin port to China's Landbridge Group.
Like most private companies in China Landbridge has extensive government connections and some analysts have warned Beijing will use the port to establish a strategic presence in Northern Australia.

Broader strategy
On Tuesday, China's Ministry of Transport hinted at official support for the Landbridge purchase. While it did not name the company, it indicated the $506 million deal was part of a broader strategy from Beijing.
"We should encourage, support and guide domestic enterprises to take part in construction and operation of overseas ports through investment, shareholdings and long term leases and move to actively explore new navigation routes," wrote Transport Minister Yang Chuantang in the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party.
On a visit to Darwin on Friday, Prime Minister Turnbull attempted to downplay the military aspects of the port.
"The port that is being leased is not being used by the military, it is a commercial port," he told Darwin Radio station Mix 104.9.
His office later clarified this statement saying "Defence has access to the port if required."
"Regardless, Defence has made it very clear it has no security concerns about the lease."
But the annual report shows the Port of Darwin and Australia's defence forces are intimately linked.

Key military logistics arm
It listed the Department of Defence among its "stakeholders" and included a photo of "defence vessels at Fort Hill Wharf".
It also said the port's East Arm Wharf was used by the Defence Force, as it was connected with the Darwin to Alice Springs rail line.
"The rail line is also being increasingly utilised by the Australian Defence Forces for the movement of equipment to bases in the north and for deployment overseas via the Port," the annual report said.
Further on, the document said Port of Darwin staff had been briefed on Defence Force operations in Northern Australia including the long running Kakadu training exercise.
"The Port of Darwin is identified as a strategic Defence port in the National Port Strategy and, as such, the Corporation attends Defence exercise briefings, like Kakadu, and works closely with Territory and federal government agencies to ensure appropriate security arrangements are in place for visiting Australian, allied or foreign flagged naval vessels," the report said.
Peter Jennings, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the Chinese military would be "deeply interested" in how the military planned for operations and how its logistics operated.
"There is a degree of wilful blindness that refuses to accept the strategic case of why the port [in Darwin] is so important," he said via phone from Canberra.