South Africa: Train derails near RBCT port, no disruption in coal supplies expected

Last night, 17 wagons of a 200-wagon train got derailed close to Richards Bay port (RBCT) halting deliveries to the terminal.

Repair work had started yesterday and is expected to be completed shortly although the estimated time for the repair work has not been communicated yet, reliable market sources informed CoalMint.

The sources further added that no immediate impact is expected because of the derailment as enough stock of around 4.5-5 mn t at the RBCT port is available.

South Africa is a major thermal coal exporter to countries like India, Pakistan, and Vietnam. However, the ongoing Covid-19 crisis since Mar’20 has adversely impacted the country’s coal exports to India. In the first five months of this year (Jan-May’20), the country exported about 15.5 mn t of coal to India, registering a drop of 11% y-o-y basis.

The South African coal prices have remained stable this week with RB2 grade being offered at USD 40/t and RB at 34/t, FoB RBCT port basis.

The freight between India and RBCT port is between USD 10-11/t for capsize vessels and the discounts for RB2 grade coal is reported to be around USD 10-11/t while for RB3  it is between USD 13-14/t.

The stock and sale price of RB2 grade and RB3 grade coal a Krishnapatnam port in India is reported to be around INR 4,500/t and INR 3,800/t respectively.