Australian Bauxite makes second Bell Bay shipment

A bauxite shipment from Tasmania has been hailed as a sign of the overall efficiency of the Port of Bell Bay, on the island state’s north coast.

ASX junior Australian Bauxite on August 8 announced a shipment of 35,913 tonnes had departed the port, the second such shipment since nearby Bald Hill mine reopened on August 3.

Another shipment is expected during the spring.

Australian Bauxite chief operating officer, Leon Hawker indicated the company was very pleased to use Bell Bay.

“We have now demonstrated to all our customers that we can load and ship large tonnage cargoes of bauxite very efficiently from Bell Bay Port – an all-weather, 24/7 port that can operate to high standards in all seasons, all year round,” Hawker said in an ASX statement.

“It also demonstrates that our stockpiles of bauxite perform very well, having withstood the recent major floods in northern Tasmania, without degrading. This is another landmark step for the company.”

According to the company, the ship was loaded in record time totalling 45 hours from hatches opened to closed, achieving rates exceeding 900 tonnes an hour using all four ship cranes, each having 12-tonne clamshell grabs.

Bell Bay is used for both dry bulk and containerised shipping and in years gone by was vital in the apple export sector.

ABx’s Logistics Manager, Paul Glover said the “exceptional ship loading performance” resulted from tight coordination between the parties including the ship’s crew, QUBE stevedores, TasPorts, agents from Monsons Shipping, Briar Maritime and the Australian Bauxite team.

This article originally appeared in ABHR affiliate Lloyd’s List Australia.