Coal news and updates

Container ships stuck at anchor off Los Angeles/Long Beach are grabbing the headlines — with the all-time record high matched on Friday. But there’s another massive shipping traffic jam out there, one that’s holding up even more cargo.

 

This other, less-publicized tale of seaborne gridlock is set in China and it’s not about container ships, it’s about dry bulk carriers.

 

Bulker congestion has now risen to historic highs as China enforces stricter COVID rules for arriving vessels. And what happens in China will be felt in America. Every bulker stuck at anchor in China is one less ship that’s available to load U.S. soybeans, corn, wheat and coal — pushing spot freight rates for U.S. bulk exports higher.

 

“It is staggering how much congestion there is [in China],” said Martyn Wade, CEO of Grindrod Shipping (NASDAQ: GRIN), on a conference call with analysts on Thursday.

 

 

Source : https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/china-bulker-pileup-dwarfs-california-container-ship-gridlock/