300th Supramax ship loaded at Outer Harbour facility
10 July 2023
Whyalla Port celebrated a significant milestone when it loaded the 300th Supramax ship at the Outer Harbour Facility.
The midsize Supramax cargo vessel Singapore Eagle was loaded with acid pellets bound for Asia. The 300th Supra milestone was significant with only 12 to 15 of these ships loading at the Whyalla Port facility each year.
To reach our 300th Supra is a fantastic milestone for the port and a credit to our team for the work they put in to ensure the facility runs safely and efficiently.
JACQUI HIGGINS (SIMEC Mining EXECUTIVE GENERAL MANAGER)
The Supramax ships (or Supras as they are commonly known) with a capacity of 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes, are a critical vessel for the SIMEC Mining-operated Port that also loads the smaller Handymax (Maxis) vessels, which can carry 35,000 to 50,000 tonnes, and the larger Cape vessels (175,000 to 205,000 tonnes).
SIMEC Mining Executive General Manager Jacqui Higgins said the Supras were owned by various different companies and contracted to meet Whyalla’s export needs.
“The Supras are important because they allow us to export smaller parcels of high-value commodities compared to the larger Cape size vessels,” Jacqui said.
“They can deliver this high value product to the market much quicker for those customers only looking for smaller volumes.”
The Supras operate from Whyalla to many places in the world with an increasing number of third parties leveraging the facility to service the export market.
“In recent years we’ve installed a second harbour crane which doubled our handling capacity and opened up more opportunities for the port,” Jacqui said.
“This has coincided with increased volumes from our own operations, as well as third parties, making the port an important piece of infrastructure for GFG but also for this South Australia region.
“To reach our 300th Supra is a fantastic milestone for the port and a credit to our team for the work they put in to ensure the facility runs safely and efficiently.”