The Gladstone port in the Australian state of Queensland saw a 7.2% increase in coal exports in 2013, largely driven by Chinese demand, according to Gladstone Ports Corp. shipping data released Thursday.Gladstone port's RG Tanna coal terminal and its smaller Barney Point exports facility loaded 61.9 million mt of coal cargo onto 637 ships in 2013, compared with 57.7 million mt loaded onto 628 ships in 2012, Gladstone's port authority said in a statistical update on its website.

A total of 136 China-bound ships loaded 15.2 million mt of coal exports at Gladstone port in 2013, and another 450,000 mt of coal cargo was put onto six ships sailing to the Chinese territory of Hong Kong, adding up to 15.7 million mt. Platts Coal Trader International is the only daily publication where you can access Platts proprietary price assessments for coal trading in the Atlantic and Pacific markets, including FOB Newcastle 5,500 NAR; CFR South China 5,500 NAR; and FOB Kalimantan 5,900 GAR. Sign up for a free trial below.Request a trial to International Coal Report  Request More Information

This represents an increase of 29.7% on Gladstone's exports of 12.1 million mt to China and Hong Kong in 2012, including 600,000 mt loaded onto eight ships for Hong Kong customers.

Gladstone port, in central Queensland, serves a dozen coal producers operating mines in the Australian state's huge Bowen Basin coal field, including Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Ensham Resources, Glencore, Jellinbah Resources, Wesfarmers and Yancoal, according to Australian rail company Aurizon.

Japan retained its ranking as the No. 1 destination for Gladstone coal exports in 2013, with 19.6 million mt shipped to the Asian country on 196 cargo vessels, an increase of about 8% on its volumes for 2012 of 18.1 million mt, according to Gladstone statistics.

India was the destination for 11.22 million mt of Gladstone's coal exports in 2013, in line with its 2012 volume of 11.28 million mt, Gladstone data showed.

South Korean coal buyers booked 8.7 million mt of coal cargo from the port of Gladstone in 2013, up marginally from its take of 7.9 million mt in 2012.

Taiwan's share of Gladstone's coal market declined slightly to 3.1 million mt in 2013, compared with 3.9 million mt in 2012.

Outside of these top five destinations, the remaining 3.5 million mt of Gladstone's 2013 coal exports went mostly to European countries.

Two rail corridors deliver a mix of thermal and coking coal exports from the Bowen Basin coal field in central Queensland to Gladstone port.

Blackwater is the port's largest rail system, having shipped 50.3 million mt of cargo to Gladstone port in the fiscal year ended in June, including some thermal coal to the Gladstone and Stanwell power stations.

The Moura rail system -- serving the isolated Callide coal field mined by Anglo American and an offshoot of the Bowen Basin including Cockatoo Coal's Baralaba mine -- carried 10 million mt of coal in the 2013 fiscal year, according to Aurizon.

Gladstone has rapidly expanded its coal exports over the past few years, and the port is to open the first stage of a new coal terminal, the Wiggins Island Coal Exports Terminal, with an initial capacity for coal exports of 27 million mt/year, in 2015.

Source:- platts.com