A spell of drier weather in Queensland's Bowen Basin coking coal-producing region contributed to a 3% month -on-month increase in the Dalrymple Bay coal terminal's coal exports to 5.93 million mt on 54 ships in September and the highest monthly exports level since December 2012, a source close to the Australian terminal said Tuesday.
"For the most part, all of the cargoes the terminal has needed were assembled on time, which reflects the drier weather the Bowen Basin has been having," said the source.
Drier weather means Bowen Basin coal mines have been able to assemble cargoes for ships arriving at the terminal, and on Tuesday coal was available from mines for all 29 ships in DBCT's vessel queue, according to a report issued by the terminal.
The main destinations for DBCT's coal exports are China, India, Japan, South Korea as well as Europe, according to terminal shipping data.
China has averaged coal shipments of 1.46 million mt/month so far in 2013 from DBCT while Japan has averaged 1.15 million mt/month, South Korea 876,300 mt/month, and India 594,170 mt/month. European countries combined have averaged 552,000 mt/month.
Dalrymple Bay terminal's throughput in August was 5.75 million mt shipped on 56 vessels, and that was while one of the facility's three ship loaders was out of action for most of the month for routine maintenance, said the source.
At its full operating capacity of 85 million mt/year, Dalrymple Bay terminal can load between 70 and 75 ships/month, according to the terminal's operator, DBCT Management.
Shipments totaled 6.56 million mt in December 2012, setting a monthly exports record that still stands, and is equivalent to a throughput of 78.7 million mt on an annualized basis.
"For this calendar year, the expectation is the terminal will ship between 55 million to 67 million mt ... depending on the weather and vessel demand," said the terminal source.
LA NINA, MORE RAIN INDICATED FOR QUEENSLAND CYCLONE SEASON
Preparations are being laid at the terminal for the upcoming tropical cyclone season, which can affect the Queensland coastline between the months of November and April each year.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has yet to issue its detailed forecast for this year's cyclone season, and expects to do so on October 14, according to its website.
However, the bureau's Southern Oscillation Index, which measures the difference in atmospheric pressure between Darwin, Australia and Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean, can provide an indication of potential weather patterns for the cyclone season.
A trend of negative values in the index can foreshadow an El Nino weather system, which is typified by warmer sea temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, less intense Pacific trade winds, and reduced spring rainfall in Australia, said the bureau.
El Nino's opposite weather pattern -- La Nina -- is associated with cooler temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean, and an increased probability of more seasonal rainfall in Australia, and in the year to date the Southern Oscillation Index has been showing positive values associated with a La Nina season.
"La Nina events have been correlated with higher numbers of tropical cyclones during the cyclone season," the Bureau of Meteorology said on its website.
Around 20 mines located in central Queensland's Bowen Basin coal field, which are owned by producers such as Anglo American, Glencore Xstrata, Peabody Energy and Rio Tinto, export coal through Dalrymple Bay coal terminal.