Rains disrupt ops at Australian coking coal ports

Supply concerns returned to the seaborne coking coal market after operations at major Australian ports were disrupted by heavy rains.

An Australian producer has declared force majeure on some shipments, although the tonnages affected were not known at the time of writing.

Operations at the multi-use Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT) have been interrupted since 11 January owing to heavy rains over North Queensland, a logistics source said. DBCT informed customers that train departures on Tuesday will be suspended, while all future berthings are delayed until 20 January, logistics sources said.

Cargo and berth operations were suspended at DBCT, Hay Point and Abbot Point ports, a trader in Singapore said. Operations at the ports may slowly pick up should the weather improve, but disruptions are likely to delay shipments, a buyer from India said. An Asian steel mill said that it had limited exposure to the risks of shipment delays given it has accounted for a longer vessel turnover time during the rainy season in Australia.

"We have not received any notice about problems with Australian shipments," a buyer from India said. Another buyer said they did not have any Australian coals lined up for delivery and as such were not worried about weather-related delays immediately.

DBCT and Hay Point are referred to as cargo-assembly ports. This implies that any delays in shipments from the mine to the port, or in arrival of vessels at the port for loading, are difficult to offset with the use of stockpiled material. Over the years, the problem has been less severe, but it still exists, a Singapore-based trader said. The port of Gladstone is typically able to make up for delayed mine-to-port deliveries with stockpiled cargoes. Gladstone shipped 62mn t of coal last year, while DBCT shipments were at 52.10mn t. Exports through Hay Point stood at 46.27mn t, while Abbot Point shipments were 30.56mn t.

The northern end of the Bowen Basin and the associated ports of DBCT, Abbot Point and Hay Point and experienced up to 800mm of rain in the first two weeks of January, and these ports have longer-than-average ship queues.

The Argus premium low-volatile fob Australia index stood at $309.30/t today, up 19.4pc month on month and down 24.8pc on the year.

By Parvin Chong and Deepali Sharma