Australia Hay Point stops coal exports, bad weather

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

28 Dec 2007

Australia's Hay Point coal terminal has been closed since Dec. 26 due to adverse weather conditions, halting coal exports, and is expected to reopen by Friday, sources at the port said. The port closed its berths on Wednesday morning due to strong winds and heavy seas, sources said on Thursday. "We're supposed to receive two ships this afternoon, but the sea is still very rough. I don't think they will bring them in," said a source at the port. The conditions are forecast to improve by Friday, allowing vessels to berth, said the source, adding that there are currently four vessels waiting at anchor. At this stage industry sources said there would be little impact on the coal markets as the port is relatively small. The terminal has the capacity to handle around 42 million tonnes of coal a year, accounting for about 14 percent of Australia's export capacity."At present we have only lost a day, we're still loading ships in the port and expect minimal impact on exports. This happens now and again as the terminal is an open sea berth," said the source at the port.