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Baltimore port closure could damage United States coal export volumes, EIA states

Halted shipping traffic from the Port of Baltimore, the secondlargest U.S. hub for coal exports, will slow the growth in U.S. coal exports and lower bunker fuel usage, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) stated on Thursday.

Coal exports from the busy U.S. port have been disrupted following the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Secret Bridge which was struck by a huge cargo ship early Tuesday morning.

Because the port is a significant transit point for freight and bulk vessels, we expect bunker fuel intake to reduce, the EIA added.

Baltimore managed exports of 28 million brief heaps last year, comprising 28% of overall U.S. coal exports and second just to the Hampton Roads port in Norfolk, Virginia, according to census information.

An appealing feature of the Port of Baltimore is its proximity to the northern Appalachia coal fields in western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia, the EIA stated.

Other neighboring ports, most notably Hampton Roadways, have additional capability to export coal, although factors consisting of coal quality, scheduling, and prices will impact how quickly companies can change to exporting from another port.

About 19 million brief tons of the exports in 2023 were steam coal, utilized to produce power and heat, and the remaining 9 million brief heaps were metallurgical coal, an active ingredient in steelmaking.

India was the leading location for steam coal over the last 5 years, where the brick production market is a significant consumer, while metallurgical coal went to various Asian countries consisting of Japan, China, and South Korea, the EIA said.

Baltimore likewise imported 3,000 barrels daily (bpd) of biodiesel in 2023, mainly from Central America and Western Europe, together with 4,000 bpd of asphalt from Canada and 2,000 bpd of urea ammonium nitrate mainly from Russia.

More widely used refined oil products are less impacted, the EIA kept in mind.