WA’S South West holds three gateway ports that connect it to the rest of the world – the Ports of Albany, Esperance and Bunbury – and Southern Ports is their custodian.
Unlike role-specific organisations such as the Hunter Valley Coal Collective which focuses its energies on getting one commodity (coal) to one port (Newcastle). Southern Ports manages multiple ports, customers, industries and multiple products.
This gives it a unique and multi-faceted role in the supply chain.
Its principle role is to facilitate trade through the commercial management of the ports, and to return a dividend to the government of Western Australia.
As FY19 comes to a close, Southern Ports will celebrate another successful year.
From the beginning of FY19 to April 30, the company’s total exports were 25.5mt, with a total guidance for the financial year of 26.466mt.
Southern Ports chief executive Steve Lewis said it is tracking well against the forecasts.
“Southern Ports is focused upon creating value for customers, commencing additional land planning around its three ports, and implementing better systems and processes to support trade and efficiency,” he said.
The company said it was focussed on growing its intergenerational assets, a key strategy in positioning the ports for resilience and growth.
“Strong regional ports means strong regions, which of course has economic and social benefits for residents in Albany, Bunbury and Esperance,” Mr Lewis said.
“We believe that each of the ports has a unique role to play in the State’s economic prosperity.
“Albany has a focus on sustainability, Bunbury has the capacity to achieve significant organic growth over time and Esperance aspires to be a smart port in order to optimise trade from a smaller land holding.”
Upgrades and developments
A number of key technological updates have been taking place in the first half of 2019, with Esperance progressing towards the upgraded and enhanced functionality of key process control systems.
Mr Lewis said that the changes would give greater visibility and access to real time data from the systems that track the loading of iron ore.
“Being able to see the operation in real time will speed up the identification and resolution of any maintenance issues with clear benefits of reduced downtime for our customers,” Mr Lewis said.
The ‘smart port’ at Esperance has also received additional funding for upgrades to Shed 4, which includes the installation of a concrete floor that will enable it to accommodate many different export products from Berth 3.
“This change will provide a number of mines in the goldfields and surrounding regions a cost effective way to reach their customers with reduced product contamination,” Mr Lewis said.
“The upgrade works have and will continue to deliver benefits in terms of increased revenue from the storage of product in the shed itself, as well as providing employment opportunities for local residents.”
At the port of Bunbury, Berth 8 is undergoing a $8.6m improvement works program designed to improve the berth’s operational efficiency.
Southern Ports has also been heavily involved in the Westport study as the state government looks to the future of ports in WA, with the Bunbury port a key area of focus.
On the back of a good trading year, the port of Albany required no major developments, which Mr Lewis said demonstrated its ample capacity for growth within the bounds of the present infrastructure.
Across the three ports, Southern Ports is working toward a more harmonious approach toward safety inductions.
Mr Lewis said that processes were already in place to ensure safety and security of all personnel on-site and for the broader community by ensuring that all facilities met the highest standards, but that there was still work to be done.
“The changes will create a mechanism for regular induction content updates and the cardholder renewal process to be streamlined,” he said.
“We are in the detailed planning phase of the project and we will work closely with all affected port users to explain the changes which will take effect from August 2019.”
Open for business
Southern Ports’ ‘open for business’ mentality has seen it take on some exciting new customers, with many more in the pipeline.
Mr Lewis said that the potential reopening of the Ravensthorpe nickel mine was an exciting prospect for the Port of Esperance.
“If confirmed the re-opening would provide additional import and export opportunities for the port,” he said.
Southern Ports has begun working with Mineral Resources, which began operations in Q1 2019 on the back of Cleveland-Cliffs’ departure.
Mr Lewis said that it was a key development for the port and would create employment opportunities for the local community.
“We are currently in discussion with a number of businesses that range from mature operators to newer businesses that are very much in the conceptual stage of development,” he said.
“While we are not currently in a position to disclose details of these potential customers, we look forward to being able do so into the future.”
Mr Lewis said the company was excited about the opportunities associated with the Koolyanobbing operation, and while it was still too early for him to comment on the potential impact of Jupiter Mines’ Central Yilgarn project, he said Southern Ports was working closely with all parties to “better understand the potential of this project and its fit with our existing operations”.
