Disabled Bulk Carrier Towed into Botany Bay
A bulk carrier that lost power in bad weather off Australia's east coast has been towed into Botany Bay, near Sydney, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.The Hong Kong-registered Portland Bay left Port Kembla on Sunday and experienced engine failure with 21 people on board, about 1.2 kilometers east of Garie Beach, NSW on Monday morning.The vessel had been anchored off Cronulla Beach since early Monday evening after breaking free from towing cables attached to smaller tugs which had been attempting to move the vessel away from the shore.AMSA…
Overnight Cruise Ship Visits Suspended in White Bay
The New South Wales (NSW) Port Authority has suspended all overnight cruise ship visits to White Bay until the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has regulated ultra-low sulphur fuel use for ships berthing at the terminal. Port Authority of NSW CEO, Grant Gilfillan, said previous overnight cruise ship visits to White Bay Cruise Terminal and the adjoining berth named White Bay 4 had caused concern to some residents, particularly unscheduled overnight arrivals. The first people to hear about this voluntary measure were members of the Port Authority's Glebe Island and White Bay Community Liaison Group, when they met on Monday evening.
Glencore Calls for Price Regulation in Newcastle Port
Coal mining giant Glencore has now applied to have the competition watchdog oversee pricing in the newly privatised Port of Newcastle, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. The NSW port is hiking some shipping charges up to 60 percent after its $1.75 billion privatisation last year. Glencore has made the application to the National Competition Council, describing the shipping channels in the Port of Newcastle as a natural 'bottleneck' monopoly. This pitch for Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) protection comes as management of Victoria's Port of Melbourne stares down a similar threat of declaration under national competition law…
World's Biggest Coal Port Lease for Sale
Australia's NSW government will go ahead with the long-term lease of the Port of Newcastle, the world’s biggest coal export location by annual capacity for a reported figure of around $700m, reports the Australian Journal of Mining. A long-term lease of the port would include over 700 hectares of land owned by the Newcastle Port Corporation, as well as all road and rail infrastructure wharves owned by NPC within the port boundary. Newcastle will be the third major NSW port privatised in recent times; Port Botany and Port Kembla were both privatised at the beginning of 2013.
