Coal ports in the Australian state of New South Wales have seen their activity disrupted by bad weather and an outbreak of Covid-19 cases. Queues outside Newcastle number over 40 vessels as ships are ordered away from anchorages zone due to storms, while delayed Covid testing is straining supply chains.

The weather is expected to clear out soon, but difficulties stemming from the spread of the Delta variant are likely to persist for the foreseeable future. Chinese-owned mining company Yancoal quoted the virus spread as a risk to achieving its production target of 39 MMT for 2021. The challenges come as Australian mines already operate at 10% reduced capacity amid shortage of skilled labor due to border closures.

The queue is driving up demurrage costs, but these are seen offset by record prices for high-grade thermal coal exports out of Newcastle.