Japanese bulker transports record US coal cargo to China
Chinese preference for coal from US rather than Australia results in record shipment, top miner claims.
According to Australian-listed Coronado Global Resources Inc., Nisen Kaiun has loaded the biggest-ever coal cargo from a US east coast port. Kaiun’s 181,400-dwt Frontier Unity left Newport News, Virginia, laden with 136,000 tonnes bound for China.
“As a critical global supplier of metallurgical coal, our geographic diversification continues to benefit us as the Chinese import restrictions on Australian coal continue,” Gerry Spindler, Coronado’s chief executive, said in a recent presentation.
“Our US operations continue to successfully move coal into China at record levels.”
According to Banchero Costa’s Singapore-based head of research Ralph Leszczynski, coal shipments from the US to China are surging because of a Chinese ban on Australian coal imports, with the US shipping 6.3m tonnes of coal to China in the first six months of 2021.
