Hunter miners declare force majeure on contracts

Coal &#38 Allied yesterday (Wednesday, June 13) joined Xstrata Coal and BHP Billiton in confirming that it would be unable to meet its coal contracts until further notice after severe storms flooded Hunter mines, rail and port infrastructure last week. The Rio Tinto-owned Coal &#38 Allied declared force majeure on several of its sale contracts because of the shutdown to the Hunter coal chain. C&#38A is still assessing the extent of damage to its Hunter mines. Severe flooding has affected mines, cut the Australian Rail Track Corporation’s (ARTC) line in several sections and disrupted shiploading at the port of Newcastle. The declaration applies to sales contracts agreed from June 8 and would apply to ships joining the queue of more than 60 vessels waiting to load. The other leading coal producer in the region, Peabody Pacific, was still mulling the options. The Hunter coal chain came to a standstill on Friday and was not expected to re-open again until tomorrow night. ARTC repair crews are working through the night to bring the rail network back online, although the network is expected to operate on a limited capacity next week. The Bureau of Meteorology said wet weather would return to the New South Wales coast today, but it was not expected to be as severe as last week’s weather which uprooted trees, flooded streets and cut power to more than 150,000 households. Meanwhile, ballasting of the stricken Pasha Bulker ‘s No.4 hold was completed yesterday, NSW Maritime said. Additional ballasting was being carried out in the aft sections of the Panama-flagged, 76,781 dwt bulker yesterday. The vessel is owned by Japan’s Fukujin Kisen Kaisha and on charter to Denmark’s Lauritzen Bulkers, although it is sublet to a Japanese shipping company, believed to be Sansho Kaiun. Rough seas have prevented an underwater assessment, but the salvage operation continues. Two tugs are on standby and a specialist anchor-handler is still being sourced from Brisbane.

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