COAL exports through the Port of Newcastle increased by about 10per cent last year
COAL exports through the Port of Newcastle increased by about 10per cent last year, reaching about 114million tonnes.
But income from the industry might not be a record, with ”spot” or one-off sale prices well down on historic highs, and lower-quality export coal reportedly selling for less than $100 a tonne.
Newcastle has three coal-loaders. Terminals at Carrington and Kooragang Island are operated by the Rio Tinto and Xstrata-backed Port Waratah Coal Services.
A second Kooragang loader owned by the BHP Billiton-backed Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group began shipping in 2010.
Port Waratah publishes its exports but the infrastructure group does not, meaning that the annual Newcastle exports are an estimate, based on the amount of coal arriving at the port from the mines.
In its latest monthly report, the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Co-ordinator, which oversees the industry, said 113.9million tonnes of coal arrived at the port in the year to December 31.
If as much coal left the port as came into it, the infrastructure group’s share of the total would be about 16million tonnes for the year.
The group could only use smaller ”handy” or ”panamax” class ships until October, when dredging of its shipping channels and berths was completed, allowing it to start using the large ”Cape” class ships that dominate the Newcastle coal trade.
The infrastructure group and Port Waratah are expanding their operations and 2012 exports are expected to be substantially above the 2011 total.
Despite the record tonnage, the industry still shipped less coal than it expected at the start of the year.
The 113.9million tonnes arriving at the port was 9.7million tonnes less than the ”declared inbound throughput” of 123.4million tonnes.
The declared input figures are based on the amount of business the coal companies expected to do at the start of the year.
Despite the extra capacity, Newcastle shipping queues remain with about 60 vessels waiting to load at the end of last week.
Source: Newcastle Herald
