China-Australia relations: coal cargo delivered after almost a year at sea

The Jag Anand left the Australian port of Gladstone on May 26 last year, laden with 174,000 tonnes of coal

China implemented a ban on several Australian commodities last year amid worsening relations between the two countries

Reading Time:1 minute

Australian coal exports to China, once topped A$1.78 billion (US$1.4 billion) in June 2018, but have dwindled to zero in 2021. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 3:55pm, 21 May 2021Updated: 10:36pm, 21 May 2021

The Jag Anand, stranded off the Chinese coast for almost a year with Australian coal, left the port of Jingtang on Thursday after delivering its cargo, according to shipping data analysed by Bloomberg.

Chartered by Cargill, the vessel left the port of Gladstone on May 26 last year, laden with 174,000 tonnes of coal. It went into anchorage off Jingtang in mid-June last year before finally arriving into port on Sunday.

The ship and its sailors, along with more than 70 other bulk carriers, were essentially stranded off the coast when China implemented a ban on several Australian commodities amid worsening relations between the two countries.

At least 19 ships carrying Australian coal from the height of the spat are still anchored off the Chinese coast. The W Eagle, holding 90,000 tonnes of Aussie coal, departed Gladstone on June 17 and is still waiting off Jingtang.

While China allowed 35 of the ships to offload, others sailed away earlier this year and delivered their cargo to India, Vietnam and other nations in Southeast Asia.