SSeaborne coal exports from Indonesia have declined so far in 2026. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Panchero Costa said that “in January-April 2026, global seaborne coal shipments fell -0.1% year-on-year to 410.7 million tonnes (excluding coastal shipping), based on ship tracking data from AXS Marine. In January-April 2026, exports from Indonesia fell by -4.8% on an annual basis to 145.5 million tons, while exports from Australia increased by +4.1% on an annual basis to 107.1 million tons, and exports from Russia rose by +3.4% on an annual basis to 55.6 million tons in the period from January to April 2026, from the United States of America by +6.9% on an annual basis to 28.4 million tons, and from South Africa by +5.1% on an annual basis to. 23.0 million tons up +10.0% y/y to 17.2 million tons in January 2026, Canada down -4.0% y/y to 14.8 million tons, and Mozambique down -9.1% y/y to 5.7 million tons.”
Source: Banchero Costa
According to Panchero Costa, “Seaborne coal imports to mainland China fell by -14.9% y/y to 99.4 million tons in January-April 2026. Imports to India fell by -5.0% y/y to 74.8 million tons, to Japan by +2.8% y/y to 53.1 million tons in January 2026, and to South Korea by +19.3%”. Imports to the EU fell year-on-year to 37.5 million tons by -6.7% year-on-year to 20.2 million tons in January-April 2026, while volumes to Vietnam rose by +0.7% year-on-year to 23.1 million tons. Imports to Malaysia fell by -3.6% y/y to 12.2 million tons, and to Bangladesh by +10.0% y/y to 6.2. Indonesia is the world’s largest exporter of marine coal, accounting for 35.4% of the global seaborne coal market so far in 2026.
“Export volumes from Indonesia declined relatively during 2020 and 2021, due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus and government policies supportive of domestic consumption, but bounced back to an all-time record high in 2022, and continued to grow further in 2023. Seaborne coal exports from Indonesia in 2023 totaled 500.2 million tons, +10.8% year-on-year, according to ship tracking data from AXS Marine In 2024, coal exports from Indonesia increased +7.4% year-on-year to a record high of 537.3 million tons, before correcting in 2025 to 494.2 million tons, down 8.0% year-on-year The vast majority of Indonesia’s coal exports are loaded in East Kalimantan and South Kalimantan (Borneo), with some volumes also shipped from South Sumatra.
Source: Banchero Costa
“The main coal export terminals in Indonesia are: Tabunyu/Banjarmasin (28.1 million tons loaded in January-April 2026), Balikpapan (14.6 million tons), Bunati (13.0 million tons), Tanjung Bara (11.9 million tons), Samarinda (11.0 million tons), Muara Berau (8.7 million tons), Muara Pantai (8.2 million tons), Muara Banyasin (7.6 million tons), Adang Bay (6.2 million tons), Sangkulirang (4.3 million tons), Tanjung Pemancingan (4.2 million tons), Tarahan (4.0 million tons), Kaliorang (3.9 million tons), Tarakan Is (3.5 million tons) The majority of coal volumes from Indonesia in 2024 were loaded on Panamax vessels, 27.7% on Supramax vessels, and 10.3% on PostPanamax, and only 7.6% on Capesize tonnage Mainland China remains the top importer of Indonesia’s seaborne coal exports, accounting for 36.3% of shipments in January-April 2026. In January-April 2026, shipments from Indonesia to Mainland China fell by -5.1% year-on-year to 52.9 million tons and 18.7% of exports were shipped, or 27.2 million tons in January-April 2026, to India, representing a correction of -21.5% y/y Shipments to the Philippines rose +0.6% y/y in January-April 2026 to 12.3 million tons, with the Philippines accounting for 8.5% of Indonesian exports to Vietnam by +6.9% y/y from January-April 2026 to 10.4 million tons, Vietnam imported 7.2%, and South Korea imported 7.7 million tons of coal from Indonesia in the period from January to April 2026, down -2.0% year-on-year, and Japan received 7.5 million tons, up 10.9% year-on-year. Exports to Malaysia decreased by -13.7% year-on-year to 7.2 million tons, and -30.0% year-on-year to 3.3 million tons in January and April. 2026″.
Nikos Rousanoglou, Global Hellenic Shipping News
