Vessel queues at South Africa's Richards Bay Coal Terminal totaled 22 ships Tuesday, up from 17 ships delayed last week, according to S&P Global Platts trade flow software cFlow.
Two consecutive nights of high swells and wind in the area hindered normal operations, an operating source said. The weather is expected to clear by the weekend, the source said.
"The vessels are piling up," the source said. "If we don't have any interruptions, maybe by the weekend the traffic will come down slowly."
Sources were mixed on the market impact of delays getting ships into the terminal.
Stockpiles have fallen to an estimated 4 million mt following a new export record set in December totaling 9.48 million mt leaving the terminal, a trade source said.
Delays at the terminal are not impacting markets yet, but could impact sales if they continue.
"I think some will be reluctant to sell new tonnage into the market, so as to avoid demurrage rates," the source said.
