Coal Seaborne Trade on the Rise in 2021 as new Routes Emerge

According to Banchero Costa, “total seaborne coal exports from Colombia in the 12 months of 2020 reached 50.3 mln tonnes, -32.2% yo-y, according to Refinitiv vessel tracking data. However, even 2019 saw a -4.8% yo-y decline in exports, as did 2018 with a -6.4% y-o-y decline. The vast majority of Colombian coal exports are loaded on the northern (Caribbean) coast of the country. The two main ports there are Puerto Drummond, which accounted for 27.1 mln tonnes in 2020, and Puerto Bolivar (which saw the biggest drop) with 12.1 mln tonnes in 2020. Other ports nearby are Puerto Nuevo, from where 6.7 mln tonnes of coal were loaded in 2020, and Santa Maria with 1.6 mln tonnes.
The shipbroker added that “the only major port on the western (Pacific Ocean) coast of Colombia is Buenaventura, from where 2.3 mln tonnes of coal were loaded in 2020. The Aguadulce terminal at Buenaventura port has been building up operations since its launch in March 2017, with facilities to load Panamax, Handymax and Supramax vessels. Japan is currently the main destination for shipments from Buenaventura, with South Korea, India and Chile also receiving some coal from the port. In the first 3 months of 2021, Colombia exported 13.6 mln tonnes of coal, down -19.7% y-o-y. In the second quarter of 2021, Colombia exported 13.1 mln tonnes, up +2.9% y-o-y from a very weak 2Q 2020 but down -30.5% from the same quarter in 2019. In 3Q 2021 things improved a little, with 14.5 mln tonnes, which was +31.8% up y-o-y from 3Q 2020, although still -23.7% below the 19.0 mln tonnes in 3Q 2019. Overall in the first 10 months of 2021, Colombia exported 46.1 mln tonnes of coal, which was up +6.6% y-o-y from the same period in 2020, although still down -25.0% from the same period of 2019”.
“Nevertheless, there have been quite remarkable reshuffles in terms of trade patterns. Coal exports from Colombia to the EU increased by +83.8% y-o-y in JanOct 2021, to 7.1 mln tonnes. However they are still shy of the 10.0 mln tonnes on this route in the same period of 2019, not to mention the 22 mln tonnes in Jan-Oct 2017. Shipments to China continue to grow, and were 3.7 mln tonnes in Jan-Oct 2021, double the 1.7 mln tonnes in the same period last year. The top destination however is still Turkey, with 10.5 mln tonnes in JanOct 2021, down -5.1% y-o-y”, Banchero Costa concluded.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide