India’s coal imports have been declining, affecting seaborne coal demand. In a recent weekly report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “in Jan-Sep 2025, global seaborne coal loadings declined by -4.3% y-o-y to 967.4 mln t (excluding cabotage), based on vessel tracking data from AXS Marine. In Jan-Sep 2025, exports from Indonesia declined by -9.6% y-o-y to 351.4 mln tonnes, whilst from Australia were down by -2.2% y-o-y to 255.4 mln t. From Russia exports increased by +3.5% y-o-y to 128.6 mln t in Jan-Sep 2025, from the USA declined by -9.6% y-o-y to 60.4 mln t, from South Africa increased by +6.9% y-o-y to 46.8 mln t. Shipments from Colombia declined by -21.5% y-o-y to 34.2 mln t in JanSep 2025, from Canada declined by -1.4% y-o-y to 36.3 mln t, and from Mozambique down by -0.8% t-o-y to 15.8 mln t.”

According to Banchero Costa, “seaborne coal imports into Mainland China declined by -13.0% y-o-y to 263.3 mln t in Jan-Sep 2025. Imports to India declined by -4.9% yo-y to 175.4 mln t, to Japan declined by -2.4% y-o-y to 112.2 mln t in JanSep 2025, to South Korea down by -6.3% y-o-y to 78.3 mln t. Imports to Malaysia increased by +7.5% y-o-y to 30.8 mln t, whilst to Vietnam volumes increased by +6.3% y-o-y to 47.2 mln tonnes. To the EU imports were up by +3.1% y-o-y to 46.2 mln tonnes in Jan-Sep 2025, and to Turkey went down -4.7%% y-o-y to 26.9 mln t. India is the world’s second largest seaborne importer of coal after Mainland China, accounting for 18.2% of the global seaborne coal market so far in 2025”.

Meanwhile, the shipbroker added that “import volumes into India increased very strongly during 2022 and 2023, then slowed down in 2024. Total seaborne coal imports into India in 2022 reached 225.4 mln tonnes, +10.3% y-o-y, according to AXS Marine vessel tracking data. In 2023, India imported 240.8 mln t of coal, up +6.9% y-o-y. In Jan-Dec 2024, however, imports declined -1.8% y-o-y to 236.5 mln t, and have been down -4.9% y-o-y in the first 9 months of 2025. 28% of coal volumes delivered into India in Jan-Sep 2025 were loaded on Capesize vessels, with 9% on Post-Panamax vessels, 46% on Panamaxes, 16% on Supramaxes. About 60 percent of coal imports into India are delivered to the East coast, primarily to the states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The majority of the rest is discharged in the North-Western state of Gujarat, India’s most industrialized state, which alone accounts for 30 percent of India’s total coal imports”.

Banchero Costa noted that “the main coal import terminals in India are: Mundra in Gujarat (22.5 mln t discharged in Jan-Sep 2025), Paradip (17.9 mln t), Dhamra in Odisha (16.5 mln t), Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh (16.4 mln t), Visakhapatnam (12.0 mln t), Gangavaram (11.3 mln t), Hazira (10.9 mln t), Kandla (8.2 mln t), Jaigad (7.8 mln t), Tuticorin (7.0 mln t), Ennore (6.3 mln t), New Mangalore (5.5 mln t), Mormugao (5.2 mln t), Dahej (4.1 mln t). Trade patterns for Indian imports saw significant shifts due to both commercial and political factors. Indonesia continues to be the top exporter of coal to India, accounting for 40.3% of total Indian imports in Jan-Sep 2025. In Jan-Sep 2025, coal shipments from Indonesia to India declined by -14.4% y-o-y to 70.6 mln tonnes, were however was still above the 67.3 mln t in Jan-Sep 2023. About 18.0% of imports, 31.6 mln t in Jan-Sep 2025, were shipped from Australia, down by -1.6% y-o-y. South Africa exported 22.7 mln tonnes of coal to India in Jan-Sep 2025, up +5.6% y-o-y, with a share of 12.9% of Indian imports. Shipments from Russia to India surged by +10.5% y-o-y in Jan-Sep 2025 to a record high 21.2 mln tonnes, with Russia now accounting for 12.1% of Indian coal imports. Imports from the USA declined by -6.0% y-o-y to 15.3 mln t, whilst from Colombia surged by +38.7% y-o-y to 1.9 mln t. As a new entry, 1.1 mln tonnes were imported this year from Ukraine, up from 0.1 mln t last year”, the shipbroker concluded
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide