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Coal exports from the bustling port of Baltimore in the US experienced a setback due to a bridge collapse caused by a collision with a massive cargo ship early on March 26, leading to disruptions in rail and coal operations, Reuters reported.
Rail company CSX announced on the same day that its coal customers should anticipate potential delays in shipments as the US Coast Guard continues search and rescue efforts following the accident, according to rail and coal companies.
CSX, which owns the Curtis Bay coal pier in Baltimore near the location of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, stated that it will keep the pier operational for the time being while assessing the circumstances surrounding the incident, Reuters reported.
CSX also mentioned that it currently can dispatch additional trains to CSX-served coal terminals in Baltimore, provided it does not exceed pile space limits.
CONSOL Energy, a coal producer with a marine export terminal at Baltimore port, confirmed delays in vessel access to and from its terminal.
A couple of producers that have focused their exporting elsewhere traded higher. Shares of Alpha Metallurgical Resources, which owns a 65% stake in a coal-export terminal in Virginia, rose 2.3%. Shares of Warrior Met Coal, which ships its coal out of the Port of Mobile in Alabama, rose 1.7%.
According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), Baltimore ranked as the second-largest port for US coal exports during the first nine months of 2023, trailing behind Norfolk, Virginia.
In that same period, Baltimore exported approximately 20.3 million short tons (18.4 million tonnes) of coal, an increase from 14.3 million short tons during the corresponding period in 2022. Of the total exports from Baltimore in the first nine months of 2023, roughly 13.3 million short tons were thermal coal, while 7.0 million short tons were metallurgical coal.
The bridge collapse is expected to lead to a shutdown of coal exports for up to six weeks and disrupt the transportation of around 2.5 million tonnes of coal. This poses a threat to global energy supply chains that have been recovering from COVID-related slowdowns.
While the impact on global prices is anticipated to be minimal, the collapse is likely to significantly impact India, a major recipient of thermal coal from Baltimore for electricity generation. India imports roughly 6% of its coal from the US, with last fiscal year's imports reaching nearly 14 million tonnes roughly split between thermal and metallurgical coal.
(Writing by Riley Liang Editing by Harry Huo)
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