Coal to gas switch — another bitter pill for dry bulk owners
Demand for thermal coal is at greater risk than it had been thanks to low prices of liquefied natural gas which might further hurt demand for dry bulk vessels this year. This exacerbates an already difficult situation after the tragic Brazilian dam collapse earlier this year impacted dry bulk owners
In addition to iron ore trade contracting in 2019, Stifel expects thermal coal trade, which makes up about 19% of all dry bulk volume, could also decline by 2%-3%