History of CSL Australia

CSL Australia Pte Ltd. (“CSLA”) commenced operations in early 1999 following the purchase of the bulk shipping assets of Australian National Lines (ANL). The two vessels, both Australian crewed and flagged, were the 30,000mt dwt MV CSL Pacific (ex River Torrens) and MV Stadacona (ex River Yarra).

The company experienced a few early setbacks trying to operate economically on the Australian coast, however we managed to achieve labour and operational reforms onboard that positioned us as an efficient supplier of shipping services to Australian customers. CSLA has now emerged as the largest owner of Australian registered vessels operating in Australian waters and is the major supplier of shipping services to the construction and building industries.

The growth in the business started In December 2003 when the company purchased the 50,000 dwt Iron Chieftain. This vessel is employed full time carrying Iron Ore and Coal to and from Port Kembla and Whyalla — an almost perfect ship schedule.

In some part due to the success of the Iron Chieftain’s performance CSLA was commissioned to provide a transhipment facility off the port of Whyalla for the export of iron ore. In March 2007 the Spencer Gulf (Floating Offshore Transhipment Barge), Barngala and Middleback (Self-Unloading Barges) commenced operations. This facility tranships in excess of 5m tonnes per annum of iron ore into Capesize vessels for export to Asia.

In 2007/2008, CSLA secured a contract to ship up to 850,000mts of gypsum per annum from Thevenard (South Australia) to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. In order to do this, the company had to increase its shipping capability and a new self unloading vessel was built. This vessel is unique in that to fast-track delivery a "forebody" concept was used whereby a new forebody (forward section comprising cargo holds and bow) is constructed and attached to the aft end of an existing vessel. The 40,000 mt dwt MV CSL Thevenard arrived in Townsville, Queensland in September 2008 and was registered as an Australian flagged vessel in December 2008. This is the first new Australian bulk cargo vessel to work on the Australian coast in decades.

Also in 2007, the company further expanded its Australian business through the acquisition of Cement Australia Ltd’s. shipping business which included the vessels MV Goliath, a 15,000mt dwt pneumatic cement carrier and the MV Cementco, a 15,000mt dwt conventional grabbed bulk carrier. The success of this acquisition relied on CSLA offering flexibility and reliability. CSL now transport over 2.5m tonnes per annum of cement products to various ports on the east coast of Australia for Cement Australia. MV Goliath has recently undergone a major refit and life extension docking in Singapore that will position this vessel well into the future. Due to its age, the Cementco was decommissioned in December 2008.

It was in December ’08 that the fleet was further expanded with the purchase MV CSL Atlantic. This vessel is a 22,000mt dwt hybrid self-unloader capable of carrying a range of products and further supplementing the flexibility offered to our customers. The concept of a hybrid vessel is very new to the Australian business. This vessel has cranes that can either discharge cargo directly over the side similar to a conventional vessel or it can discharge cargo into hoppers onboard. These hoppers feed a conveyor system that eventually feeds a boom conveyor similar to a self-unloading ship.

CSLA has positioned itself as a provider of specialised bulk shipping services on the Australian coast. This service provides Australian customers with an environmental friendly highly efficient means of transport for their products. The company sees itself as a leader in this field and is working to further expand its Australian business.