China-Australia relations: dispute leaves 400 seafarers stranded with US$200 million of Australian coal held up
- At least 21 bulk carriers are anchored off the Port of Jingtang, unable to offload their Australian coal that could be worth around US$200 million
- Fifteen of the ships have been waiting since June, according to Bloomberg analysis, while the remainder have been delayed at least four weeks
An estimated 400 seafarers and roughly 2 million tons of coal are stuck on ships off the northeast coast of China, as a spiralling diplomatic row with Australia threatens to turn into a humanitarian crisis.
Mumbai-based Great Eastern Shipping’s Jag Anand bulk carrier arrived around mid-June and has been in limbo ever since. China customs has not cleared its cargo, according to a company spokesperson who asked not to be named due to internal policy.
Jingtang is not allowing crew to get on or off the vessel, citing coronavirus-related protocols, and the ship’s charterer has refused to allow the vessel to sail to another port to relieve seafarers, said the spokesperson, who declined to name the charterer.
China Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin acknowledged the plight of one Indian ship berthed near Hebei, telling a briefing on Friday that authorities had not restricted the ship from leaving. Wang blamed the situation on the freight-forwarder’s reluctance to adjust sailing plans “due to commercial interests.”
The stand-off at the port, roughly 230km east of Beijing, compounds a broader threat to the shipping industry. Some 400,000 mariners are overdue to get off their boats; Covid-19 protocols at ports, cancelled flights and, increasingly, charterer mandates have made it more difficult for shipowners to arrange swaps. The crisis has exacerbated labour violations, threatening seafarers’ safety and global supply chains.
Seafarers on the Indian-flagged Jag Anand are being supplied with food, water and medicine from local agents, said the Great Eastern Shipping spokesperson.
China’s General Administration of Customs did not immediately respond to a fax seeking comment. A Jingtang port official said she was not aware of the issue and declined to comment. The terminal is owned by the Tangshan Port Group.
Under normal conditions, ships typically take a few days to berth at Jingtang, although the duration can increase to 15 to 20 days if it is busy, according to the Great Eastern spokesperson.
The northern port is one of the nation’s key gateways for metallurgical coal imports used in steel production. Nine of the cargoes originated from Hay Point in Australia, with eight from Gladstone and four cargoes from Dalrymple Islet.
The ships, which mostly consist of Capesize and Panamax Dry bulk carrier vessels, typically require a crew of about 20 people. Australian coking coal for November on the Singapore Exchange traded near US$104 a ton on Thursday.
