The DTEK company has explained why the shipping company that transports coal from South Africa to Ukraine chose a route that passes along the West African coast instead of the route that passes through the Suez Canal. DTEK told the CFTS portal that this was due to several reasons, including the fear of attack by pirates operating off the coast of Somalia.
According to DTEK, the route that passes along the West African coast is not much longer than the one that passes through the Suez Canal. "Passage of a vessel through the Suez Canal takes 23 days and passage through West Africa takes 25 days (based on a vessel speed of 13.5 knots but not taking weather conditions into account)," DTEK said.
According to the company, passage through the Suez Canal has its own shortcomings.
"They include 1) high canal fees; 2) the risk of delays during the passage of a convoy through the Suez Canal (1-2 days); 3) passage through the Gulf of Aden, where the risk of seizure of a ship by Somali pirates is high, which poses a threat to the lives of seamen and delivery of expensive cargo; 4) international maritime organizations (the IMO and others) require vessels to bypass zones of high pirate activity (a 2-day delay); 5) if it is necessary to urgently transport cargo through the Suez Canal, it must be done exclusively with the consent of the shipowner and the captain of the ship (who bears personal responsibility for the safety of people, the ship, and its cargo) and the shipowner must pay for special insurance and hire special armed guards to accompany the ship to the Suez Strait at an additional cost of about USD 30,000," DTEK said.
According to the company, another bulk carrier loaded with coal is expected to arrive in Ukraine before the end of this week.
As reported, DTEK has already delivered 150,000 tons of anthracite from South Africa in 2017. The first bulk carrier loaded with South African coal was unloaded at the Yuzhny port on May 28 and the second on July 25. In total, DTEK contracted DTEK contracted to purchase 675,000 tons of coal from South Africa before the end of 2017, with the possibility of increasing the purchase to 1 million tons.
In addition, coal from the United States will soon arrive in Ukraine.