The European Union still struggles to break free from its reliance on coal and Russian gas. It is currently the sixth-largest importer of seaborne coal and continues to rely on Russian gas imports to balance its energy needs. Seaborne coal imports to the EU fell by 2.6% year-on-year to 63.7 million tonnes in 2025, driven by a shift from coal to natural gas and renewable energy sources. However, between January and July 2026, the EU increased its coal imports by 5.5% year-on-year to 38.5 million tonnes, according to Banchero Costa Research, citing data from AXS Marine.

EU countries rank sixth among coal importers, trailing well behind China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam. In 2025, the EU accounted for 4.8% of global demand for seaborne coal supplies. Demand from EU countries rose during the January–July 2026 period. As Europe has gradually moved away from coal as an energy source, it has become heavily dependent on natural gas supplies from Russia.

The EU was the fourth-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels, accounting for just over 8% (€1.5 billion) of Russian export revenues among the top five importers in July 2026, according to CREA analysts Luke Wickenden, Isaac Levi, and Panda Rushwood in their report, “July 2026 — Monthly analysis of Russian fossil fuel exports and sanctions.” Pipelines accounted for 38% of EU imports, valued at €561 million. Meanwhile, 36% of gas deliveries from Russia—worth €526 million—were offloaded at European LNG terminals. The remaining 26% consisted of crude oil transported via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia.

Statisticians at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) calculated that “in July, Russian LNG imports to the EU fell by 42% month-on-month. This represented 6% of the level seen in July 2025.” They explain that “LNG imports to the EU typically drop during the summer months because warmer weather reduces the demand for natural gas, but this year’s decline is the steepest since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.”

Despite the reduction in LNG imports by EU countries, importers still paid Russia 8% more in July 2026 than in the same month the previous year. Russian exporters received €526 million for LNG deliveries in a single month. This occurred three months after the ban on concluding short-term contracts for Russian LNG supplies came into force on April 25, 2026. Under the REPowerEU regulation, imports of Russian LNG remain permitted if the underlying short-term supply contracts were concluded before June 17, 2025.

Russia and the USA profit from coal

In July, Russian revenues from coal exports rose by 15% month-on-month to €66 million per day. Russian coal exports met rising demand, increasing by 10.4% year-on-year to 112.6 million tonnes.

US exporters also capitalized on growing demand, loading 9.4% more coal onto bulk carriers year-on-year for a total of 49.3 million tonnes. South African mines sold 40.7 million tonnes on the global market—a 10.7% year-on-year increase. Shipments from Colombia rose by 9.3% year-on-year to 28.9 million tonnes.

Coal loadings at Canadian bulk terminals fell by 3.4% year-on-year to 27 million tonnes, while Mozambican ports loaded 11.6 million tonnes onto vessels, a 0.8% year-on-year change. Between January and July 2026, global seaborne coal shipments rose by 3% year-on-year to 756.8 million tonnes (excluding cabotage), according to Banchero Costa Research, citing vessel monitoring data from AXS Marine.

 

Structure of coal supplies to the EU. Source: Eurostat

China and India dominate the market

– Global seaborne coal shipments rose by 1.0% year-on-year, reaching 116.5 million tonnes in July 2026, according to Signal Ocean’s “Commodity Radar” report on the AXS Marine blog. Global seaborne flows of thermal coal fell by 2.3% to 87.3 million tonnes in July 2026. Global seaborne flows of metallurgical coal rose by 11.8%, reaching 27.2 million tonnes in July 2026.

China is a key player in the thermal coal market in 2026. Chinese steel mills accounted for a 32% market share in July 2026. Indian metallurgical plants also drive demand as major consumers of thermal coal, holding a market share of just under 20% in July 2026.

Exports from leading suppliers remained high. Coal loadings at Australian bulk ports rose by 4.5% year-on-year to 201.9 million tonnes during the January–July 2026 period. Conversely, Indonesian ports recorded a 1.6% year-on-year decline in loadings, to 261.8 million tonnes.

Seaborne coal import demand was driven by China, which imported 191 million tonnes during the January–July 2026 period compared to the same period the previous year. Imports via PRC ports fell by 3.7% year-on-year. Imports to India also decreased by 7.8% year-on-year, resulting in a total of 133.6 million tonnes of coal arriving in the country by sea.

Japan increased its demand by 4.8% year-on-year, importing 91.2 million tonnes of coal during the period in question. South Korea saw a significant rise in demand, increasing seaborne imports by 20.3% year-on-year and unloading 67.9 million tonnes at its ports. Vietnam’s economy also increased demand by 8.6% year-on-year, importing 44 million tonnes of coal by sea.

Coal ports are thriving

European Union ports are capitalizing on this demand to boost turnover and sales of services related to coal handling and storage. The Netherlands is effectively leveraging its strategic location as a transit hub, serving as by far the largest intermediary for coal shipments to the continent.

“In Rotterdam’s bulk terminals alone, coal handling volumes rose by 17.8% in the first half of 2026,” reports the Port of Rotterdam Authority in its “Half-Year Report 2026.” The increase in supply at bulk terminals from 7.9 to 9.3 million tonnes is primarily due to an improvement in coking coal handling volumes, recovering from the exceptionally low levels recorded in 2025.

Furthermore, the supply of thermal coal was higher than in the previous year—partly driven by relatively high gas prices resulting from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the Port of Rotterdam Authority explains. Terminals in the Netherlands handled 47.5% of the EU’s seaborne coal imports—which totaled 18.3 million tonnes between January and July 2026—representing a 17.5% year-on-year increase. The vast majority of this coal was subsequently transported by rail from Rotterdam and Amsterdam to end-users across Europe.

 

Coal imports by EU countries, 2021–2026. Source: Eurostat

Poland: The EU’s second-largest importer

Poland is the second-largest coal importer, with 4.6 million tonnes unloaded between January and July 2026. This represents a 22.2% year-on-year increase. The Port of Gdańsk Authority reported that “due to the harsh winter, a significant rise was recorded in coal handling volumes, which reached 4.3 million tonnes—51% more than the previous year.” In contrast, at Gdynia’s bulk terminals, “coal and coke handling volumes in the first half of the year were lower than the previous year, falling by 23.21%, or 135.8 thousand tonnes,” the Port of Gdynia Authority stated.

German bulk terminals handled 4 million tonnes of coal imports, a 6.3% year-on-year decrease. Italian importers significantly reduced their demand for coal, recording the sharpest decline among major players; imports fell by 25.1% year-on-year to just 1.5 million tonnes in the January–July 2026 period, following a 17.2% drop to 3.3 million tonnes in 2025.

Until a few years ago, Europe was heavily dependent on coal supplies from Russia. The situation changed drastically following the invasion of Ukraine. However, European countries have not completely abandoned coal imports from Russia. Banchero Costa Research estimates that “in 2024, 5.9% of seaborne coal imports to the EU originated from Russian ports—including Kazakh coal transported via Russian ports—and this figure rose to 7.5% in 2025.”

Consequently, EU coal imports from Russian ports increased by 23.2% year-on-year in 2025, reaching 4.8 million tonnes. In the January–July 2026 period, imports from Russian ports rose by 28.8% year-on-year to 3.8 million tonnes. This means that Russia and Kazakhstan account for 9.9% of total EU coal imports.

Australia: Key Supplier to the EU

Australia was the leading supplier to Europe during the January–July 2026 period, accounting for 27.5% of deliveries. Australia maintained high supply levels to Europe in 2024, with coal carriers transporting 19.3 million tonnes of coal across the Pacific and Atlantic.

In 2025, demand from Australia fell by 9.2% year-on-year to 17.5 million tonnes. However, in the January–July 2026 period, European buyers increased their purchases of Australian coal by 21.3% year-on-year, with 10.6 million tonnes of the energy commodity delivered to European ports by ship. The United States is the second-largest supplier to Europe, accounting for 27.3% of supplies to the EU during the January–July 2026 period. US exports to Europe totaled 17.9 million tonnes in 2024, rising by 1.2% year-on-year in 2025. Ships delivered 18.1 million tonnes of coal across the Atlantic to bulk terminals.

Between January and July 2026, EU imports from the US fell by 2.8% year-on-year, with 10.5 million tonnes of coal unloaded at ports. Colombia is the third-largest coal supplier to Europe, with a 13.8% share; ships delivered 5.3 million tonnes of coal from Colombia to the EU during the January–July 2026 period.

 

Structure of energy raw material imports from Russia by selected markets. Source: CREA

Less LNG from Russia

While reducing coal imports, Western European countries also slowed down their LNG imports last month. CREA analysts found that “France, Spain, and Belgium recorded a combined 46% drop in imports of Russian LNG supplied via the Yamal project.” Twenty LNG tankers were loaded at Yamal LNG terminals in both June and July. The majority of these shipments were destined for Asian buyers.

Importers in France received four fewer cargoes than the previous month. Spanish LNG terminals received three fewer ships, while Belgium received just one fewer than in the preceding month (June). Consequently, imports of Russian gas through Belgian terminals fell by 20%. The country became the third-largest importer of Russian fossil fuels in the EU. In July, Belgian LNG terminals received 100% of LNG deliveries from Russia.

In July, the value of Russian LNG imports to France fell by 54% to €161 million. Spain—which had been the third-largest importer in June—spent 64% less on Russian LNG than the month before. Russian LNG imports into Spain amounted to €77 million.

 

Changes in coal demand in 2025–2026. Source: Signal Ocean “Commodity Radar”