Minerals lift trade volumes at Darwin Port

Preliminary figures for the  port show that total trade in the 12 months ending June 30 climbed 33% to 5mt from 3.7m tonnes in 2008/09, the port's chief executive Robert Ritchie told Lloyd’s List DCN.

"It has been a good year where budget was met in all areas except petroleum,” he said.

“Bulk minerals held up well and we saw a slight increase across those areas.”

The temporary shut down of the LNG facility caused a a slight dip in the total number of LNG ships which visited the port during the year, he said.

Mr Ritchie said corporation was in talks with potential mining customers who could come on stream in 2-3 years time if negotiations go according to plan.

“We expect more activity particularly with the proposed mines. This would provide additional growth for the port.”

In other developments, Mr Ritchie said the port hoped to appoint a new harbour master over the next two weeks.

The search is also underway for a new port development general manager following the sudden departure of Michael Nesbit after 18 months in the job.

The port is expected to decide on Mr Nesbit's successor in the next eight weeks.