Today, SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. announced that it has begun offering barge unloading services at its Convent Marine Terminal in combination with stevedoring and barge services provider Cooper Consolidated, LLC. The multi-year agreement between CMT and Cooper Consolidated provides for the use of Cooper Consolidated's extensive floating crane fleet and its Louisiana Mid-Stream One transload system tounload coal, petroleum coke and other materials from barges at CMT's dock. The companies recently demonstrated their combined capability by successfully unloading the first 30-barge shipment of coal bound for the export market.
The addition of barge unloading capabilities complements Convent's existing rail and truck offerings, and provides the terminal with the ability to transload, blend and store a significantly broader array of materials going forward.
CMT is one of the largest terminals on the US Gulf Coast, and the only bulk terminal in the region that provides direct rail access for ocean going shipments. Convent has two independent shiploading systems, with its newest shiploader capable of accommodating cape-sized ocean vessels. It is located on the Lower Mississippi River, with 1.5 million tons of ground storage.