The Port of Brisbane has been closed to all ship movements following heavy rains and flooding in the region, with vessels also directed to exit anchorages off the ports of Newcastle and Port Kembla. While Brisbane is an important container port, the impact of the closure for dry bulk shipments will be minimal. The ports coal terminal is far smaller than others in the region, loading 3.2 MMT over the last 12 months. This was less than 1% of Australia’s total coal shipments over the same period.

Over the last few months, the port has become an increasingly significant wheat export hub, loading 233,000 tons in February. This is, however, still only 9% of Australia’s total wheat exports last month.

More significant disruptions to coal supplies may occur as the weather system moves further south as it approaches the larger coal terminals. Heavy rains may also cause flooding at coal mines across Southern Queensland, many of which are already heavily saturated. As a result, queues off the port of Newcastle have declined by 34.3% WoW to 1.7 MDWT.