- Third shipment clears quality checks
- Reports pending for fourth and fifth
The long-term coal supply agreement awarded to Trident Chemphar Ltd. will remain in force as the third shipment of coal has reportedly met the required quality specifications of the Lanka Coal Company (LCC), it is learnt.
Ministry of Energy Secretary Prof. Udayanga Hemapala told The Sunday Morning that based on preliminary findings shared by the LCC, there was no immediate requirement to proceed with the Cabinet-approved emergency coal procurement.
He claimed that the official quality report of the third shipment was expected to be released either yesterday (7) or today.
“If the third shipment gets clearance, the fourth and fifth shipments are also expected to be within the required quality levels,” Prof. Hemapala said, noting that under such circumstances, the LCC was not in a position to cancel the agreement with the supplier at this stage.
Meanwhile, unloading of the sixth shipment is currently underway, it is learnt.
Last week, Cabinet approval was granted to procure 300,000 MT of coal through emergency procurement in the event the long-term tender had to be halted due to confirmed quality failures.
While the approval remains valid, Prof. Hemapala reiterated that the ministry would only move ahead with emergency purchasing if a clear necessity arose.
The long-term tender was awarded to Trident Chemphar to supply 1.5 million MT (±10%) of coal for the period from December 2025 to April 2026. According to the LCC, six shipments had been unloaded by the end of last week, although quality reports have only been received for the first two consignments.
Based on inspection reports, the first shipment recorded a dry basis ash content of 22.42% with a Gross Calorific Value (GCV) of 6,032 kcal/kg, while the second shipment showed an ash content of 16.67% and a GCV of 6,535 kcal/kg. Tender specifications stipulate that coal should be rejected if the GCV falls below 5,900 kcal/kg, ash content exceeds 16%, or total moisture is above 16%.
According to the termination clauses of the agreement, the contract can be cancelled if two separate shipments fall outside permitted quality tolerance limits. Additionally, the contract provides for termination in cases of frequent or significant discrepancies between load port and jetty test results.