The containership crash that knocked out a Baltimore bridge has ground one of America's largest coal-export hubs to a halt. Authorities say all vessel traffic has been suspended in and out of the area until further notice, effectively closing what federal analysts say is the country's second-largest exit point for coal shipments.
Traders exported about 22.9 million metric tons of the commodity from Baltimore last year, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler, sending much of the heat- and power-generation fuel to buyers in India, China and Europe. The total represented more than 27% of all U.S. seaborne coal exports.
The fallout of Tuesday's accident is already rippling through the market. Consol Energy, which operates a key export terminal in Baltimore, said it is working with officials to get its facility back online. "However, at this moment, we do not have a definitive timeline of when vessel access or normal operations will resume," the company said in a statement.
Baltimore Bridge Collapse Knocks Coal-Export Hub Offline (wsj.com)