SYDNEY: There was just 3.23 million mt of coal exported in April from North Queensland, Australia, after the region’s coal chain was disrupted by Tropical Cyclone Debbie, data from the North Queensland Bulk Ports Corp showed Wednesday. The month’s total, which is comprised of exports from the Abbot Point, Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay coal terminals, is 72% lower than the 11.67 million mt shipped in April 2016, and 69% less than March’s 10.55 million mt. It is the smallest monthly total shown on NQBP records dating back to July 2011.
Major logistical issues lingered after the cyclone, which made landfall March 28, until the Goonyella coal rail system connecting mines to the Dalrymple Bay and Hay Point coal terminals was reopened on April 26. Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal exported just 1 million mt of coal in April, down 79% from 4.77 million mt a year earlier, and 80% lower than 5.04 million mt in March. Hay Point Coal Terminal shipments stood at 759,000 mt in April, down by 82% year on year from 4.21 million mt, and 77% less than March’s 3.32 million mt, it said. The Abbot Point Coal Terminal’s throughput was not as severely impacted, as it received its first post-cyclone train at April 13. APCT shipped 1.47 million mt in April, still down 45% year on year from 2.69 million mt, and 33% lower month on month from 2.18 million mt, NQBP figures showed.
