Hong Kong’s NEPA Projects and Investments, through its Global Maritime Services business, will provide a range of commercial shipping services to a conglomerate of 27 Indonesian coal mines.
In 2015-16 the mines in the Indonesian state of Kalimantan are expected to export some 12m tons of coal to India, Korea, China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.
Global Maritime Services will source supramax, ultramax and panamax bulk carriers to ship the coal out of Kalimantan. There will also be a requirement for larger ships up to post-panamax size.
“It is a very exciting venture for NEPA Projects, as we were able to work directly with the mine owners to provide a solution for their shipping needs, which means they can now focus on increasing productivity in their core business of sustainably developing their coal reserves,” said Captain Pappu Sastry, director of NEPA Projects and Investments.
“Individually the mines will always find it difficult to manage their shipping requirements, consolidating their shipping businesses means mines would get the benefit of the market freight rates instead of working with traders, especially with depreciation of coal prices worldwide,” NEPA Projects said in a release.
“It has always been our strategy to work with experts outside of our core business,” commented a spokesperson for the mining entities.