By Tyler Godwin

August 6, 2019 - Five laden coal ships departed from Baltimore in the week that ended Sunday, down from eight in the previous week, according to cFlow, S&P Global Platts' trade flow software.

The total deadweight tonnage of the departures was 378,186 dwt, down from 518,358 dwt in the prior week, according to the data.

Two of the departures are headed to Brazil, while another two are traveling to Northern Europe.

The two headed to Brazil are both expected to arrive on August 18, with one headed to Sepetiba and the other to Santos.

A ship destined for Amsterdam is scheduled to arrive on August 13, while a coal carrier headed to Rotterdam is expected to finish its voyage on August 17. The remaining ship is destined for the Port of Gibraltar on the south coast of Spain and is scheduled to make it there by August 11, the data show.

Expected Arrivals Climb on Week

In the coming week, 10 coal ships are expected to arrive in Baltimore by August 11, up from six in the prior week, according to the data.

Only two of the expected 10 coal carriers are laden, while two more are partially laden. The remaining six are unladen. In the previous week, all six were unladen.

S&P Global Platts assessed FOB Baltimore 6,900 kcal/kg NAR 3% sulfur coal, for 15-60 day loading, at $59/mt Monday.

In 2018, Baltimore was the second-busiest port in the US in terms of coal exports when it shipped 19.53 million mt of coal, behind Norfolk, Virginia's 37.34 million mt, according to US Census Bureau data.

Nearly 52% of the coal shipped out of Baltimore in 2018 was bituminous coal, while the remainder was metallurgical coal. It was the first time in more than seven years that more thermal coal was exported out of Baltimore than metallurgical coal.

Through the first six months of 2019, 6.35 million mt of bituminous coal left Baltimore, up from 5.11 million mt in the same period a year ago. The 6.35 million mt was the most bituminous coal exported from any US port, beating out New Orleans, which exported 5.7 million mt.

In 2018, New Orleans was the top bituminous coal exporter at 17.5 million mt, while Baltimore exported 10.11 million mt of bituminous coal.