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The queue management system will be used to improve coal handling efficiencies at the terminal, which have been swamped under unprecedented export demand for coal.

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More than 50 vessels are currently sitting off the Dalrymple coast awaiting loading. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chief Graeme Samuels said without the system, demurrage costs for Australian coal producers could spiral to $A550,000 this year.

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Even once the system is in place, it will take at least two months to reduce vessel queues to “workable lengths”, he said. The ACCC considers the system to be a transitional device, while an expansion of the terminal’s infrastructure occurs in the interim.

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"The queue management scheme essentially rations the amount of coal each producer can export through the terminal on a pro rata basis so that the overall amount handled by the terminal better matches the amount that can be delivered by the congested coal chain,” Samuels said.

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“This is designed to substantially reduce demurrage costs that arise from an excessive queue.”

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The ACCC approved a similar scheme in the Hunter Valley last month.

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Leaseholder of the coal terminal, Prime Infrastructure Group, announced on Wednesday its first tender package for the facilities expansion, including new stacking and reclaiming machines, valued at $50 million.

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A tender for construction of the terminal’s third rail receival system is expected soon.