Aluminium Bahrain, known as Alba, is sending metal to export markets via the Saudi port of Jeddah, its CEO said, as the Gulf smelter’s normal route to world markets via the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.
Alba CEO Ali Al Baqali also said the company was looking at other ways of importing raw material alumina, of which it has almost one month of stock remaining, and had received additional supply from Saudi smelter Ma’aden.
Al Baqali told an investor call on Wednesday Alba was sending 40-60% of exports via Saudi Arabia, despite having already declared force majeure and cut production, and had not seen its transportation costs increase significantly.
“We are using Jeddah port, for example, for exporting our metals … We are incurring the land cost. However, we are able to meet our commitment to our customers on time,” he said, according to a transcript released on Thursday.
Jeddah, on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, is around 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) overland from Alba, the world’s biggest aluminum smelter on one site.
Alba has not imported any alumina via the Red Sea so far, Al Baqali said, thanking Ma’aden for the extra supply. “They are supporting us in this difficult time,” he said.
(By Tom Daly; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
