Despite infrastructure difficulties, South Africa’s Richards Bay coal terminal is expanding shipments to Europe. Alan Waller, president of terminal operator Transnet SOC Ltd, says the shipments have surged due to the high demand, as quoted by Bloomberg.

According to Alan Waller, shipping from Richards Bay to Europe reached over 14 million tons in 2022, a 28 percent increase over the previous year. Export shipments to this location made up 4% of the total in 2021.

However, Richards Bay’s overall exports in 2022 decreased 14% to 50.4 million tons. Bloomberg reports that this is the lowest level in three years. Exports decreased as a result of, among others, operator equipment shortages and wage-related employee strikes.

In light of this, Transnet SOC Ltd. ceased shipping in 2022 for 22 days. If these issues are rectified, according to Alan Waller, the corporation might export 60 million tons by 2023.

After the embargo on the import of Russian coal went into effect on August 1, there has been an increase in demand for coal in Europe. As a result, European nations started purchasing coal from countries like Colombia and South Africa. In light of this, Russian coal exports decreased by 7% in 2022. The supply of Russian coal is also resumed through the North-Western direction in 2022.

source: bloomberg.com