Storms and floods scuttle Hunter coal exports

Coal exports from the port of Newcastle have been suspended after wild storms hit Hunter coal mines and the coal chain’s crucial rail and port infrastructure on Friday (June 8). In what could easily be the biggest blow to coal exports in the port’s history, more than 2m tonnes of coal capacity is expected to be lost. The news is a huge setback to unilateral efforts to slash the vessel queue by two-thirds to about 20 by late July. Hunter coal chain providers would not speculate on the possibility that the queue could instead reach a record of more than 78 by next week. On average, the port loads 21 coal ships each week but a week-long shutdown will force all ships due to load this week to queue for another seven days. Average delays, last reported as 25 days, could peak above 30 given that repairs to rail and port assets will take until Friday to complete. Hunter Valley Coal Chain Logistics Team (HVCCLT) chairman Graham Davidson said today (Tuesday, June 12) that even once the rail line was cleared, the network would remain limited. PWCS was considering moving scheduled maintenance in the next few weeks forward to coincide with the unscheduled rail downtime. Newcastle Port Corporation had allowed two small general cargo vessels to enter the port this morning, but was unlikely to allow coal ships to use the channel while debris-filled floodwaters were still surging through the harbour mouth. The peak of the floodwaters was expected to reach the harbour today, bringing with it extensive current flows, debris and silt. The Bureau of Meteorology reported that up to 330 mm fell in some areas in the last four days, a lot of it falling in coal mining areas of the Hunter, in the worst storm to hit the region in more than 30 years A spokeswoman for Coal &#38 Allied said the full impact of the rainfall on the company’s three Hunter mines would not be known for some time. Production had been suspended on Friday, but it was unclear when a decision on when to recommence production would be made. C&#38A had been hampered by limited access to the mines caused by road blockages throughout the region. In a statement late this morning, HVCCLT said all timeframes were indicative only because of the uncertainty about the extent of damage to infrastructure still flood-affected. &#8220There is still a lot of flood water to come down the river,&#8221 HVCCLT general manager Anthony Pitt said. &#8220Friday evening remains the earliest estimate for a partial re-start of operations, although there is still a lot of uncertainty around this estimate. &#8220We will be contacting all load-points during the week to assess coal availability and access to assist with planning a re-start.&#8221 In an earlier statement.the HVCCLT said: &#8220Some movement of coal to local power stations is still occurring in areas where the track is not flood affected. &#8220 There are a number of washaways of the rail track, some instability and land-slips on several embankments, and flooding and electrical systems impacted at PWCS. &#8220The above issues are being urgently addressed, although until such time as the flood waters have receded, the full extent of the damage will not be known.&#8221 Extensive flooding to the rail track, particularly at the main artery near Hexham, about 15 km from the port, has not allowed repairs to begin. The extent of damage elsewhere will not be known until floodwaters subside enough to allow coal companies and the Australian Rail Track Corporation to inspect their assets. Port Waratah Coal Services (PWCS) said it had experienced some flooding of coal stockpiles at the port and was resolving communication problems caused by the storms. Logistics providers are holding daily telephone meetings to discuss how to get the coal flowing again. The logistics team said it would examine every opportunity to recover some of the volume losses in the second half of 2007.

No Results