APOL sees increase in coal shipping volume this year

IDX-listed shipping firm PT. Arpeni Pratama Ocean Line (APOL) said Monday that it would ship around 15 million tons of coal this year compared to just 10.5 million tonnes last year.

CEO Oentoro Oentoro Surya said the increase in volume was due to additional 3 million tonnes of coal shipped to South China (2 million tonnes) and Taiwan (1 million tonnes) this year. He declined to disclose the customers? names.

?The shipment to South China and Taiwan are new long-term contracts for APOL, which will be started in Q2 2009. The contracts are more than 5 years,? he said without giving detail.

Last year, APOL only shipped 500,000 tonnes of coal for overseas destination.

Recently, APOL obtained a 15-year contract worth of Rp3.08 trillion (1US$ = Rp 10,420) from Tanjung Jati coal-fired power plant in Jepara, Central Java to ship 4 million tons per annum of coal and jetty management, he said.

APOL is Indonesia? top coal transporter, operating 77 vessels, including 9 panamaxes vessels and 1 capsize. (denny)