Global Coal Imports Rise Sharply After Major Middle East Oil and Gas Supply Disruptions

Global coal shipments and imports surged in March and April 2026 as buyers scrambled for fuel amid massively disrupted oil and gas supply from the Middle East. The trend has been accelerating in recent weeks as of May 11, 2026, and global coal imports are on track to reach their third-highest monthly level on record, according to estimates by analytics platform Kpler cited by the Financial Times.

Coal shipments to South Korea, Japan, and the European Union surged by 27% from a year earlier in April 2026, BIMCO said.

BIMCO, the world’s biggest shipowners’ association, released the coal shipment data last week relative to May 11, 2026. Qatar halted LNG production as early as March 2, 2026. The world’s largest LNG complex, Ras Laffan in Qatar, sustained damages from Iranian missile strikes on March 16, 2026.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted LNG shipments out of the Persian Gulf. Global seaborne LNG shipments dropped 8% year-over-year in April 2026, BIMCO said. South Korea has pushed back the retirement of coal-fired power generation capacity amid the 2026 oil and gas shock.

Com reported. Energy security concerns are shifting policy responses, accelerating coal usage across key Asian and European markets, and delaying coal plant retirements, analysts at Wood Mackenzie say. Europe, for its part, is currently losing the competition with Asia for spot LNG supply at a time when it needs to fill gas storage sites ahead of the next winter.

The Asian importers and the European bloc are scrambling for alternatives to gas supply from the Middle East, currently trapped behind the Strait of Hormuz or not produced at all in Qatar. In the wake of the worst oil and gas supply disruption in history, coal is back in demand.

com reported that the surge reflects a rapid policy pivot in markets that had planned to phase out coal-fired generation.