Australian Coal

Australia A storm at Newcastle and the Hunter Valley that started last Friday and lasted over the weekend caused heavy rain and flooding that resulted in a shutdown of the port and damage to rail lines. During the wild weather the Panamax “Pasha Bulker” was driven on to the beach near the entrance to Newcastle by waves up to 18m high and salvage crews are still working to refloat the vessel. In the wake of the storm BHPB’s Mt Arthur coal mine has declared force majeure and Rio’s Bengalla has been shut down due to flooding. Xstrata and C&A both said they had declared force majeure for new ships joining the queue. The port is currently open to selected inwards/outwards traffic but coal stock at the port is very low due to rail damage. The loaders are scheduled to return to full operation on Friday 15 June.