Puerto De Mamonal
{{#badges: CoalSwarm|Navbar-Colombiacoal}}The Puerto de Mamonal is a port located on the bay of Cartagena, along the north coast of Colombia. The port has exported coal in the past, but ceased its coal-related activities indefinitely in early 2013 due to low global prices and lack of demand.[1]
Contents
Background
In late 2010, the maritime news magazine Fairplay Weekly listed Puerto De Mamonal as one of several Colombian ports planning expansion of their coal export facilities, and noted that the port had been "planning upgrades for two years or more... to bring the facility into compliance with government requirements to install direct ship-loading equipment." However, the same article noted that "Puerto Mamonal has yet to place any orders for machinery and, in spite of having been closed for two weeks earlier this year for environmental violations, it appears in no hurry to modernise."[2]
In May 2012, port director José Arsenio Galvis reported that modernization plans were moving ahead, that the port had invested $50 million in direct loading facilities, and that they were expected to be in place by January 2013.[3] Around the same time, Manuel Campos, manager of ports in Colombia's National Infrastructure Agency reportedly listed Mamonal as one of Colombia's top four coal port expansion projects, with direct load facilities to be developed by Drummond. [4]
In June 2012, Colombian Senator Lidio García Turbay expressed concern as to whether the port was fully complying with environmental regulations during the expansion and called for an investigation by Cartagena's environmental authority.[5]
In January 2014, the Colombian government cited Puerto de Mamonal as one of four ports that had still not complied with the new government requirement for direct loading facilities. In response, port director José Arsenio Galvis stated that Puerto de Mamonal has ceased shipping coal as of early 2013 due to the global drop in coal prices; however, Mr. Galvis maintained that most of the equipment required by the Colombian government was already in place, and that the remainder would arrive by late January and be installed by mid-2014. In the meantime, Mr. Galvis stated that Puerto de Mamonal was only shipping coke, which is not subject to the government's direct loading requirements.[6]
In June 2014 Colombia's environmental regulatory agency ANLA issued a report that officially removed sanctions against the port, based on a January 2 onsite visit which confirmed Mr. Galvis' claims that no coal was being shipped from Mamonal. The government report further noted that the port only had 10,000 metric tons of coal remaining in its warehouses, and had no plans to ship it due to lack of demand and low global prices.[7]
A February 2016 news report on the expansion of port facilities at Puerto de Mamonal makes it clear that the port continues to handle exports of coke but not thermal coal.[8]
Project Details
- Operator: Puerto de Mamonal S.A.
- Location: Cartagena, Bolívar Department, Colombia
- Annual Coal Capacity (Tonnes): N/A
- Status: Stopped coal exports in 2013
- Type: Exports
- Coal source: Colombia
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ "Coal Cargoes & Ports: Puerto De Mamonal", LBH Group website, accessed May 2011.
- ↑ "Port shortfall puts pressure on smaller coal shippers", Fairplay Weekly, November 25, 2010.
- ↑ "Avanza modernización de Puerto de Mamonal", El Universal, May 18, 2012.
- ↑ "Colombian Coal Prepares for Canal Expansion", Coal Age, November 22, 2013.
- ↑ "Senador García pidió revisar actividades de Puerto Mamonal", El Universal, June 7, 2012.
- ↑ "Cuatro puertos en la mira de ANLA", El Universal, January 4, 2014.
- ↑ "Resolución No 0610", ANLA, June 12, 2014.
- ↑ "Con inauguración de Puerto de Mamonal, Colombia exportará carbón de petróleo", El Universal, Feb 27, 2016.
