London, 13 August (Argus) — Russian coal producer Suek will load its first 140,000t Capesize cargo at the Russian port of Murmansk as part of a plan to optimise throughputs. The vessel, the Golden Shanghai, will sail into the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub in the last week of August.
Suek's trading subsidiary has been working on optimising cargo flow at the port, since the company acquired part of the port last year. In February 2012, the group acquired 24.9pc of the Murmansk Sea Commercial Port and bought an additional 25pc in December, according to Suek's last year financial statement.
“Now that we have a bigger berth in operation we want to try and use this berth at its maximum capacity,” Suek trading head of chartering Vsevolod Garulin said. Whether Suek will load more Capesize cargoes in future depends on factors such as the demand in Europe, suitable discharging ports and draught restrictions at Murmansk port.
Garulin said that current restrictions at the port means that standard Capesize would only sail short-loaded — or partly loaded — which would compromise the entire benefit of using Capesize vessels. But in certain market conditions, running a larger vessel is more feasible as it contributes to increased throughputs and also allows savings on freight rates.
“Capesizes in the port of Murmansk are only at a trial stage for now and we will have to assess how economically viable the loading of bigger vessels is and how it can be improved,” Garulin said.
Last June Suek also loaded two mini Capesizes from berths 13 and 14. Garulin said that the mini Capesize segment was better suited for Suek's berths and that it might attract more attention in future.
But demand remains the main factor in deciding whether Suek will increase baby Capesize loading. The coal loaded at port of Murmansk is now mainly delivered by Suek on Panamax vessels.
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