Australia’s national competition regulator approved the use of coal export quotas at Newcastle port until Dec 31 to avoid an increase in costs for mining companies from ships queuing to load the fuel.

The regulator was concerned that any longer term use of coal export quotas beyond the end of the year could curb investment in the coal export transportation system, Graeme Samuel, chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.

Bottlenecks at Australian ports have helped constrain supplies of the fuel to Asian customers, contributing to record prices and increasing costs for mining companies. Newcastle has operated an export quota system since March 2004. The regulator said on March 3 it proposed to approve the quota system for 2008.

“The ACCC is of the view that the proposed capacity balancing system is likely to result in a net public benefit till Dec 31,” Samuel said in the statement.

“The proposed system is likely to have the effect of minimising the vessel queue at the port of Newcastle, which has the potential to save the industry a significant amount in deadweight demurrage costs,” he added.

Xstrata Plc, Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd are among mining companies that ship coal through the port.

Forty-one coal ships were waiting outside Newcastle to load as of midnight April 23, the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Logistics Team, the coordinator of coal exports through the rail and port system at Newcastle, said on its website.

Coal ships waited for 11.46 days to load coal in the week ended April 21, versus 0.55 day for general cargo vessels, Newcastle Port Corp said on its website.

The export quota system does not reduce the volume of coal exported through the port, Graham Davidson, general manager of Port Waratah Coal Services Pty, operator of the two coal terminals at Newcastle, said earlier this month.

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