Maly Port handles 9% more coal in Jan-Aug, mostly exports to China

VLADIVOSTOK. Oct 9 (Interfax) - Maly Port Stevedoring Company LLC, a terminal operator at the Vostochny Port in Primorye controlled by JSC Port Alliance, handled 2.465 million tonnes of coal in the first eight months of 2024, 8.8% more than in the same period of 2023, Maly Port director Igor Kukunin said in an interview posted on the company's Telegram channel.

"The market is changing. The main customer now is China, before it was Japan and [South] Korea. Due to the fact that in general cargo traffic has reconfigured from European to Asian, the railway is not always ready for this. Competition is fierce and the price of coal is at its lowest since 2021," Kukunin said.

Maly Port's website said the company operates a universal terminal at the Vostochny Port consisting of three berths with a combined length of 416 meters and a dockside depth of up to 12 meters. The terminal currently specializes in handling coal.

Port Alliance, which was established in March 2024, also includes JSC Murmansk Commercial Seaport , Murmansk Bulker Terminal LLC, Tuapse Bulker Terminal LLC and JSC Daltransugol, a coal terminal at the Vanino Port in Khabarovsk Territory. The company's five terminals have combined capacity to handle over 53 million tonnes of cargo per year. All of these companies were previously part of the National Transport Company.