Greenpeace Paints Slogans on Queensland Coal Ships

By Angela Macdonald-Smith

July 28 (Bloomberg) -- Greenpeace climate activists painted slogans on the sides of ships queuing outside the largest coal export harbor in Queensland, the latest in a series of protests in Australia against the use of the fuel.

The activists this morning painted messages including ``Stop Coal Expansion,'' ``Barrier Reef Gone'' and ``Ice Caps Gone'' on 20 carriers waiting outside Hay Point to load, Greenpeace Australia Pacific said in an e-mailed statement. Shipping hasn't been disrupted, said Simon Roz., a campaigner.

Australia, the world's biggest coal exporter, generates more than 80 percent of its electricity from the fuel, which emits more greenhouse gases when burnt than natural gas. Coal exports from Queensland may double by 2030, State Premier Anna Bligh said July 9, as ports and railroads are expanded and mining companies boost output amid record prices.

``The plans to double Queensland's export capacity contradict the stated intentions of Prime Minister Rudd and Premier Bligh to be urgently reducing greenhouse pollution,'' Roz said from Greenpeace's MV Esperanza ship, about 20 nautical miles from the harbor. ``Greenhouse pollution knows no borders.''

Spot prices for power-station coal exported from Australia's Newcastle port reached a record $194.79 a metric ton this month, buoyed by constraints at eastern Australian ports. Annual contract prices for coking coal used in steelmaking, tripled to a record $300 a ton this year.

BHP, Mitsubishi

The Hay Point harbor includes two coal ports, Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group's Dalrymple Bay terminal and an adjacent site owned by BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, the world's largest exporter of coking coal. Neither Greg Smith, general manager for operations at Dalrymple Bay, nor Nicole Ireland, a spokeswoman for BHP Billiton Mitsubishi, could be reached for comment. Queensland Police said it was getting details on the incident from its local unit.

Greenpeace posted photographs of the protest on its Web site.

Queensland Rail, Australia's biggest rail transporter of coal, said today at a coal conference in Brisbane, the state capital, that it plans to increase capacity for deliveries to Dalrymple Bay to 130 million tons a year by late 2009. BHP Billiton Mitsubishi is planning up to 11 projects to meet demand as part of its growth strategy, Michael Lambourne, chief financial officer at the alliance, said at the same conference.

The Esperanza, the largest vessel in Greenpeace's fleet, is on a six-week tour up Australia's eastern coast, part of a campaign to support renewable energy and energy efficiency and in opposition to the use of fossil fuels. Last week it led a protest against Queensland Energy Resources' proposed shale oil mine, claiming pollution from the project threatens the Great Barrier Reef.

To contact the reporter on this story: Angela Macdonald-Smith in Sydney at amacdonaldsm@bloomberg.net