Reverend Garry Dodd told a monthly shipping lunch at the Newcastle Club last Friday he believed the situation was created by a new vessel arrival system that stopped coal ships from anchoring off Newcastle more than seven days before loading.

The ships must wait off New Guinea, steam slowly down from Japan or wait about 110 nautical miles off the coast before approaching the Newcastle anchorage.

The latest official figures show almost 40 ships waiting an average of 12 days to load in Newcastle.

Mr Dodd's disclosures sparked an angry response yesterday from the Maritime Union of Australia and the union-linked International Transport Federation, which both asked why they had not been told at the time.

Mr Dodd said the mission only found out about the first ship after it had sailed and the second vessel arrived while he was out of the state.

He passed the case on to the mission's Illawarra-based national co-ordinator Colin Brown, who recalled yesterday contacting the ship's agent to ensure food was brought on board.

Newcastle Port Corporation chief executive Gary Webb said the new vessel arrival system did not stop ships asking to be provisioned and "no-one has asked" since the system began in June.

Mr Dodd said he was not surprised the port corporation had not been alerted to a food shortage because the sailors' concerns might not even make it to the captain.

"If they were at anchor they could get supplies to them more easily but they can't if they are out there drifting," Mr Dodd said.