South Australian grain farmers have been given more export options thanks to a new purpose-built grain transhipping port in Lucky Bay, Upper Eyre Peninsula that is expected to be in full operation for the 2017 harvest. This has been made possible thanks to the hard work of our team at SEATRANSPORT.
The Lucky Bay ferry harbour has been expanded to allow bulk grain to be filled on small container ships before being transported to larger ships and exported.
SEATRANSPORT'S new port offers new export options for farmers with Viterra, a Canadian grain handling business, holding current control over the seven ports in South Australia.
"Farmer's definitely want competition, they do not want to be dominated by one part...they lost control through deregulation when the co-op was sold, the bulk handling systems in South Australia, and this is about bringing some further competition into storage and handling to the state"
Lucky Bay, SAThis new port is owned by Spencer Gulf Trust who has been working with SEATRANSPORT to establish innovative and economic transhipping technology at Lucky Bay, which has been used elsewhere to transport minerals within the northern regions of Australia.
"It has the ability to be able to maximise shallow waters, so it is about building export facilities closer to where the resource is produced, and being able to reduce some of the supply chain costs," said STS who explained that the on land set up would be similar to existing ports; however the actual loading of the large export vessels would take place
at sea.
"They use seagoing vessels that are totally enclosed and have their own discharge booms, which reach over the side of the ship's hatch and then discharges straight into the hull."
In the future this same technology could be utilised in Wallaroo on the Yorke Peninsula.
"We see the opportunity to have a transhipping site on both sides of the gulf and then maximise the use of these transhipping vessels, because we can relocate those vessels within an hour and a half from one side of the gulf to the other."
SEATRANSPORT is very excited to see the results of this new port in the coming years and is hopeful that our innovative transhipment methods can be adopted in more regions within Australia and around the world.
