JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Wednesday reinstated an interim authorisation for a coal queue system at the Newcastle port, allowing for the better management of ships waiting to load Hunter Valley coal.

This comes as stakeholders last week signed a deal with the New South Wales government over future long-term access to the coal port, where exports would double to 180-million tons over the next six years.

The competition body’s interim authorisation now allowed Port Waratah Coal Services, the Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group (NCIG) and the Newcastle Port Corporation to undertake the phased implementation of arrangements to provide a long-term solution to continuing capacity constraints at the port.

The ACCC had originally granted interim authorisation to Port Waratah Coal Services, NCIG and the Newcastle Port Corporation in July, subject to a condition that the applicants executed their respective capacity framework documents by the end of August.

However, the parties had advised that one party failed to execute its documents by the deadline, and accordingly, the ACCC revoked the previous interim authorisation.

ACCC acting chairperson Peter Kell said that the terminal operators would now be able to ask producers to provide binding nominations for their long-term terminal capacity requirements.

“As a result, coal-chain system capacity can be modelled and long-term ship or pay contracts can be entered into for the first time, which will underpin future investment and the efficient operation of the coal chain.”

Kell added that there was still a programme of work to be completed by the industry to allow the long-term solution to be fully implemented across the coal chain by January 2010.

“In particular, the ACCC considers the resolution of the remaining contractual alignment issues needs to be a priority for the industry.”

Authorisation provided immunity from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act. Broadly, the ACCC may grant an authorisation when it was satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment. Interim authorisation allowed the parties to engage in the conduct prior to the ACCC considering the substantive merits of the application.

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