The $NZ80 million ($A73.7 million) supply chain will be operated by the consortium made up of Port Taranaki, TNL Group, the Wendell Group of Companies and Jebsens International.
WCCC will have responsibility for all aspects of handling and freighting the coal from the mine stockpile areas to onboard the export vessels at Port Taranaki.
The coal will be coastally shipped from Port of Greymouth in two small coastal bulk ships, purpose built for the limited water depth, to Port Taranaki. From there, the cargo will be shipped in Panamax size vessels – carrying up to 65,000 tonnes at a time – to export markets in Asia, India, South America and Europe.
“This new transport route is a major innovation for New Zealand’s coal export industry and opens up significant opportunities for expansion,” PRCC general manager Gordon Ward said.
Port Taranaki is currently dredging to deepen to 12.5m for all berths and has resource consents to dredge to 14m, which would make it the deepest container port in New Zealand.
The coastal shipping will be provided by the ship management and marine services arm of the Wendell Group of Companies and specialised bulk ship owner-operator Jebsens International.
Design features of the special purpose vessels include capability to transport large cargoes (up to 12,000t each) at shallow draft. The vessels will be constructed in China and delivered in 18 months.
The TNL Group will be responsible to WCCC for trucking coal to the Port of Greymouth.
First coal production is planned for the March 2007 quarter and first coal shipments will come some months later.
