The National Environmental Licensing Authority in Colombia ordered the suspension of coal loading at a Drummond Coal port following the near-sinking of a loaded coal barge in January that the agency said might have an environmental effect.

The decision only impacts that port, located near Santa Marta, NELA officials told Reuters.

NELA said the suspension would be lifted when Drummond provided the government with an explanation of the event and offered a contingency plan.

In a statement, Drummond told the news service it intended to take “corrective” measures at the Caribbean port.

“[Drummond] will proceed to suspend all coal loading activities for now and will work with the Colombian authorities to get our workers back to work as soon as possible,” it said.

“[The company] will take all corrective actions necessary to optimize the operation under the best environmental and safety standards, while it concludes the construction stage of its direct ship loading system for coal."

The company has not released any information on whether coal leaked into the sea.

Agency director Luz Helena Sarmiento told Colombia Reports earlier this week that it was investigating the incident, noting that its inquiry began 17 days late because it claimed Drummond did not report the event.

Under environmental license regulations all such incidents are required to be reported within three days.

The barge reportedly had about 2000 tonnes of coal aboard.

Drummond is an 80:20 joint venture with Japanese firm Itochu.

According to producer data, its Mina Pribbenow and El Descanso operations in Colombia have total proven and probable reserves of 2 billion tons of steam coal.

The company is US-based and also has coal operations in Alabama.