Dallas-Based Company To Open Coal-Exporting Facility At Port Of Albany

The export of coal from the United States, hampered today by limited port facilities, will get a boost from a significant new facility slated for the Port of Albany, N.Y. New Amsterdam Coal, Inc. of Dallas has announced plans to open the new facility in Albany by the fall of 1981. With an immediate capacity to handle two million tons of coal per year, the facility's ultimate capacity will range from four to six million tons per year. Based on 1980 coal exports, the new facility's ultimate capacity represents a 10- percent increase in the coal export capabilities of the U.S.

According to R. Vincent Lynch, c h a i r m a n of New Amsterdam Coal, the new facility will have a number of vital advantages.

"First, this facility will be open and operating long before the final plans are even completed for a number of other new facilities t h a t have been recently announced," he said.

"There will be no demurrage, no waiting, for ships to load. This is a critical problem today, when ships have to wait an average of 60 to 70 days at Hampton Roads to load Appalachian coal. Recently there have been as many as 150 colliers waiting to load off the East Coast. Foreign buyers are incurring demurrage costs as high as $15,000 per day in these circumstances. The Port of Albany poses no such problem, and instead offers immediate access," Mr. Lynch added.

"Moreover, our facilities will be able to load at the rate of 1,000 tons per hour, accommodate ships up to 30,000 dwt, and ultimately store 500,000 tons of coal. The port is ideally located on the Hudson River, and has a channel depth of 32 feet," Mr. Lynch said.

He pointed out that the Port of Albany has excellent rail linkage on Conrail, and additional linkage can be provided as required to meet demand.

"We anticipate moving coal to Albany by rail primarily from West Virginia and western Pennsylvania," Mr. Lynch said, "because of the excellent rail connections and the quick access to the port by ship." New Amsterdam Coal, Inc. is a privately held company, formed by R.V. Lynch & Company, a firm engaged in oil and gas exploration and production, and pipelining.

Other stories from May 1981 issue

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