Coal news and updates

Australian NSW rail network for coal exports still shut after storms

The rail network for coal exports to Australia's Newcastle port remains suspended as the Australian Rail Track Corporation works to repair tracks damaged by storms that hit New South Wales last week.

ARTC said operations on the coal network, which were halted April 20, would remain suspended until all tracks could be assessed and repaired.

"Some parts of the network are still without power, and there remains a sizable track repair and signaling repair job to take place over coming days," ARTC said in a statement Sunday.

"ARTC will continue to work with our customers and the Hunter coal chain on an operational startup plan for coal, passenger and general freight that will take into account the need to meet passenger timetables, provide coal customers with access to the port and above all, safety."

ARTC said it was unable to provide a timeline for possible startup because a full assessment of the track was not complete.

Operations at the three Newcastle coal terminals were suspended April 20 as the storm pounded the coast with 13-meter (42-feet) swells, driving rain and gale-force winds in excess of 100 kph (62 mph).

By Thursday afternoon, limited operations resumed at both Port Waratah Coal Services and the owner-operated Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group terminal as coal stocks were used to load ships.

PWCS and NCIG confirmed Monday that the terminals sustained no damage and operations continued to be limited only because of the lack of coal railings.

"The impact of the rail halt has been ameliorated to some extent because we maintain stockpiles on site," a spokesman for NCIG said. "Ships are loading at NCIG and will continue to do so until stocks are depleted."

The spokesman declined to answer questions on current stock levels at the terminal or the ship queue.

A PWCS spokesman said ships were being loaded with existing stocks.

"At this stage we do have enough coal to assemble cargoes and will continue to do so until tomorrow but after that, we will have some trouble loading cargoes until we received additional coal -- which could be a few days away yet," the spokesman said.

"Obviously we are hoping to get coal as quickly as possible so there is as little disruption to our operations as possible."

PWCS stocks totaled 1.87 million mt on April 19. The Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator website shows stocks had fallen to 1.4 million mt as of April 26.

Four vessels were berthed at PWCS on April 20 when the port was closed. Those ships were assembled Thursday and Friday and remain the only vessels to be assembled in the past week.

The vessel queue for the three Newcastle terminals at 7 am Monday was 56, according to a report released by the Newcastle Port Corporation. This is only the second time the queue has jumped above 55 this year, with the queue peaking at 59 on February 2.

Rio Tinto declared force majeure last week on some of its Hunter Valley coal shipments. No other coal companies have so far made force majeure declarations as a result of the storms.

source: http://www.platts.com