Coal began to be transported less often in large balconyers
For the export of energy coal in the world, Panamax vessels of 60–80 thousand tons instead of capesize, containing 160–210 thousand tons, were more often used, recorded in Argus. The trend is associated with the restructuring of logistics on shorter routes and high rates on Capesize. The trend also affected Russia, but mainly in the ports of the Far East, while in the south and north-west, profitability at current coal prices retain only Capesize shipments.
World coal transportation “switched” from Capesize vessels (Dedever 160–210 thousand tons) on Panamax (Dedeveria 60–80 thousand tons), the Argus study says. The analysts explain the trend with a long period of high rates on Capesize, as well as reorienting to shorter routes in the Asia-Pacific region after demand.
The interlocutors of Kommersant in the field of sea logistics of coal say that for Russia this trend is not so obvious or unambiguous. According to the source of “Kommersant” in the coal marine logistics industry, the trend for reducing Capesize transportation has existed for several years. According to him, in 2022, the share of such balconies in the transportation of coal was less than in 2021, in 2024 the indicator grew relative to 2023, and this year it became minimal, although « only four months have passed. » To the east, the source “Kommersant” clarifies, there is less capesize than before. “The market is changing, customers are changing. Products are shipped portioned. The buyer must check everything, see. Nobody “Cape” will immediately order, ”he says. Also, the Kommersant source notes, not all ports can physically accept Capes. Another interlocutor “Kommersant” draws attention to the fact that in some periods the bets beyond Panamax were as close as possible to the bets beyond Capesize.
According to the Kommersant’s source, in China, one of the key consumers of energy coal-due to the unexpectedly warm winter, the warehouses of power plants were filled with solid fuel and in the region there are no demand for “Capes” with coal in the region. And alternative markets are in the development stage and acquire the goods in small, sometimes trial batches to check on local facilities, NEFT ResEARCH partner Alexander Kotov points out.
The director of the Center for Price Index (CCI) Roman Sokolov says that a decrease in the share of Capesize balconies in the structure of the fleet transporting Russian coal, the logistics system reduces the bandwidth of the main routes after a decrease in the cargo base. According to the results of the first quarter, coal exports from the Russian Federation increased by 2% of the year, to 46.4 million tons, but turned out to be 15% lower than the same period of the pre -crisis of 2023, counted at the CCC. In general, notes Mr. Sokolov, Capesize and previously were uncharacteristic for the Russian export market.
According to Roman Sokolov, the Panamax vessel today goes to the main role in the transportation of coal, in the Far East the popularity of Handymax (Supramax; Dedeverit up to 60 thousand tons) is growing. The average size of the export batch of coal in 2024 amounted to about 54 thousand tons, which made Handymax (Supramax) one of the most popular in the market, he explains. According to the CCC, the freight of a balcear of a similar size in the Far East often observes Panamax freedom, overtaking a smaller Handysize in terms of a tons of products in the cost of a smaller court. Since the beginning of 2025, 32 parties with a coal of more than 100 thousand tons were shipped by the sea against 43 such parties for the same period of 2024, added Mr. Sokolov.
Neft Research indicates that the freight rates for the transportation of coal in the basins of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are now generally reduced on most routes amid an indefinite situation in the market and weakening of general trade activity. “The Russian sea export of solid fuel stagnates due to the protracted period of low prices and the strengthening of the ruble. Exports slowed to Turkey, where in the second quarter the time is traditionally coming for hydropower. The little interest was preserved from the Indian consumers, but this did not provide significant support for tariffs for sea transportation, ”the company explains.
However, for Western ports in the Russian Federation, the use of large capacity vessels due to remoteness from the main sales markets remains relevant, as it allows reducing the cost of transportation. According to the CCI, on the Taman -Sever China route, the share of marine logistics in the CFR China quotes at the beginning of May was 33% when transporting Capesize ($ 25 per ton) and 43% of Panamax ($ 32 per ton). The interlocutor of “Kommersant” in the field of marine logistics of coal notes that the carriage of Capesize by capesize balcony is on freight and in some areas the economy develops only with their accounting. One of the sources “Kommersant” clarifies that, for example, the situation is in a number of directions from Taman. According to another interlocutor “Kommersant”, this is true for goods from Murmansk regarding the ports of the Baltic. In the case of Russian shipments of coal, we must not forget that “often vessels that carry coal under sanctions, turn off GPS and their transportation may not fall into statistics on the courts, the interlocutor of Kommersant in a coal company adds.
