SUEK division set up co in UAE in 2022 to trade coal internationally

MOSCOW. April 24 (Interfax) - MK SUEK LTD, a division of Russian coal company SUEK, registered the company Black Sand Commodities FZ-LLC with charter capital of AED100,000 in the United Arab Emirates in June 2022, SUEK LTD said in a report.

Black Sand said on its website that it is one of the largest suppliers of Russian coal on the international market. The company ships coal to more than 40 countries, with over 80% of shipments going directly to end customers.

SUEK chief executive Maxim Basov said earlier at a meeting with employees that SUEK is maintaining its position as the fourth largest company on the world coal market, expanding exports eastward and developing trading of coal from third parties.

In addition to selling SUEK's products, Black Sand trades coal from other Russian and foreign mining companies, including Indonesian South African, and other energy products of various origin, as well as other bulk commodities such as iron ore from various producers, the company said on its website.

The company ships commodities by both sea and rail. Black Sand said it is also the largest charterer among coal suppliers of Russian origin. Our major geographical area in chartering is the Atlantic region, where SUEK AG provides more than 95% of all its seaborne sales on CIF/CFR and DAP delivery terms.

Russian coal companies, which were among the first to face the problem of having to redirect exports from Europe to other markets, successfully managed to find vessels to charter, SUEK logistics chief Denis Rakhimdzhanov said in April. "Today there are no problems with charters, including in the Northwest," he said.

Coal companies have redirected coal shipped through ports in western Russia to countries in Asia such as India, China and South Korea. After the European Union imposed its embargo on Russian coal, Morocco, Turkey, India, Pakistan and China became the main customers, the SUEK executive said.