RI coal exports to Japan may be diverted to other countries

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 03/22/2011

Indonesia’s coal exports to Japan will likely be diverted to other countries for several months after the recent earthquake and tsunami that damaged around four of Japan's coal-fired power plants, the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI) says.

Earlier this month, a vessel containing 60,000 tons of coal from Indonesia was diverted to China because of conditions in Japan, APBI chairman Bob Kamandanu told The Jakarta Post.

“We don’t know yet the future of Japan’s coal imports. We still have to wait for the Japanese government to complete its assessment of the damage to its coal-fired power plants, which is expected to be released by the end of this week,” Bob said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

The Japanese government is also recalculating its coal imports for the next fiscal year, he said, adding that the disasters would likely cause its coal imports to decline significantly. The Japanese fiscal year ends March 31.