Australian ports of DBCT, Abbot Point, Hay Point reopened Sunday: sources

New York — Australia's three key met coal terminals in Queensland, including Hay Point, Abbot Point and Dalrymple Bay, or DBCT, reopened Sunday, market sources said Monday.

Three terminals were closed March 11-14 by deteriorating weather conditions which led to a force majeure notice being issued by DBCT on March 13. However, not all of DBCT users were issued with a force majeure notice, sources said.

"The notice might have been issued to users with vessels lined up for a specific date. As for us, we did not receive any notice," one Australian sell-side source said.

An Australian shipping agent said Monday that all cargo operations in all three terminals which were affected by the bad weather restarted on Sunday, adding that around 74 ships in total -- 27 at Hay Point, 32 at DBCT, and 15 at Abbot Point -- were waiting at anchorage.

"The temporary closure of ports merely caused a longer queues for vessels. The pressure on spot prices appears limited," a trader said.

Platts assessed Premium Low Vol FOB Australia up 50 cents/mt day on day to $163.50/mt FOB Australia Monday, and met coal dry bulk freight East Australia-China, basis 75,000 mt, at $9.05/mt, up 5 cents/mt.