Coal news and updates

Steam coal imports via Mumbai Port drop 28% in FY16

A volume of 202,383 tons of steam coal was imported through Mumbai Port in March 2016 against 136,910 in February 2016, rising 47.82% month-on-month, as per provisional information available with ICMW

Where January is concerned, there is till date, no data available with ICMW.

With the March figures, total steam coal imports through the port in the current fiscal of 2015-16 stood at 3,153,770 tons against 4,351,200 tons in the previous fiscal of 2014-15, posting a 27.52% year-on-year drop.

March saw all the consignments arriving from Indonesia in a band of Rs 3,623 – Rs 3,810 ($53-56) per ton while in February 2016, two consignments arrived from Indonesia in a price band of Rs 3,766 – 3,919 ($55-57) per ton.

In January this year, in what was regarded as a major victory against air pollution, the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) had said at a court hearing that it does not want to handle coal and will clear the mountains of the dirty fuel lying on port land within the next 3 months.

It may be recalled that the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, acting on a PIL, had proposed to ban coal handling after October 31, 2015 on environmental grounds. Subsequently, MbPT had managed to secure a stay on this order and the case had been slated for a hearing in January.

The PIL had been filed on environmental grounds since MbPT does not have modern coal handling facilities. The coal that lands here is transported to the power plants of MAHAGENCO, Tata Power and Maharashtra State Electricity Board.

Following is the monthly break-up of steam coal imports via Mumbai in 2015-16 and 2014-15:

Following table gives details of steam coal imports via Mumbai Port in March 2016: