Weekly US coal ship departures totaled 23 in the week ended December 28, down 14 from the previous week, according to data from cFlow, Platts trade flow software.
The departing laden and part-laden ships carried over 1.4 million dwt, down 27.2% from the week before.
US Gulf Coast departures dropped four week on week to total 14.
The departing coal carriers held 848,679 dwt, down 11.8% from the prior week.
From the gulf, three ships departed towards the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp and two to Gibraltar. Otherwise, one carrier each left towards the Arabian Gulf, the Black Sea, Brazil, Central America, North Africa, South and Southeast Asia and the UK.
Departures off the Atlantic Coast declined the most, down to three ships leaving compared with 12 the prior week. The last time departures dropped so low on the eastern coast was in the first week of October.
The ships carried 299,787 dwt, down 54.6% week on week.
The four ships leaving the east coast departed towards the Mediterranean, the ARA and Gibraltar.
Six coal carriers left off the west coast, down one week on week and the lowest in seven weeks. They carried 308,796 dwt, down 16.4% from the week before.
Of the West Coast departures, four headed toward North Asia and one to the western coast of South America. The sixth carrier's destination was unknown.
