Delays in Australian coal ports persist

Delays in Australian coal ports persist Port delays in Newcastle, Australia, are said to be costing the coalmining industry $350 million this year, as roughly 70 ships sit at anchor waiting for a berth, Australian press outlets reported this week.
   'Xstrata, the world’s biggest thermal coal exporter, estimates miners in the Hunter Valley are paying about $1 million a day in penalties for idle ships, according to spokesman James Rickards,' said a report Wednesday in the Sydney Morning Herald. 'Demurrage may reach $460 million in 2007, Australia’s competition regulator estimated in March.'
   The situation means that roughly 10 percent of capesize vessels and 10 percent of the world's Panamax bulk shipping fleet is stranded in the bottleneck outside Australia — with Newcastle, the world's busiest coal port the main culprit.
   Analysts are suggesting the bottleneck could affect rates for three to five years, as projects to expedite coal movement and clear the backlog of ships won't be quick to come.
   The delays are being caused primarily by heavy global demand for coal and inland infrastructure delays in getting coal from mine to port in Australia.