Shipping tracker data showed a total of 53 ships carrying more than $500 million worth Australian coal are anchored off Chinese ports. These ships are mostly Capesize and Panamax-sized and have been waiting for about a month to offload a total of 5.7 million tons of coal from Australia. This issue is seen by many could spiral into a humanitarian crisis. These ships and crews are victims of Beijing’s move to blacklist imports of some Australian commodities.
An official with China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs argued that the move to prohibit exports of some Australian goods is to protect public health and in line with the WTO obligations. The ban on Australian coal also coincides with a broader push to curb coal imports, an effort by China to boost domestic coal prices and support the domestic mining industry.
