Russia's Port Alliance Group pushed coal export transshipment up 13% year on year to 17 million tonnes in the first half of 2026, mainly driven by alternative markets, with India and South Korea together handling 6.3 million tonnes, multiple local media outlets reported.

The two countries together virtually matched China's intake and reshaped the group's export geography. Deliveries to China stayed flat at 6.4 million tonnes, shrinking its share from 43% to 38%.

India cemented second place with 3.8 million tonnes, while shipments to South Korea surged almost sixfold to 2.46 million tonnes. Their combined share jumped from 23% a year earlier to 38%.

The remaining cargoes went to Turkey, Africa, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. Sergey Galkin, chief operating officer of Port Alliance, said high railway tariffs, logistical bottlenecks and record domestic stockpiles in China have tilted the balance of power, pushing Russian exporters to deepen ties with other Asian economies.

The first half of 2026 showed the Russian coal export market has become more diversified, he noted, adding that the wider reach insulates Russian coal companies from localized disruptions.

The pivot was powered by the group's Far Eastern Osterra terminal, where turnover soared 45% to 12.1 million tonnes from January to June, offsetting weaker flows through northwestern ports. At the same time, the Murmansk operations diversified into metallurgical raw materials and mineral fertilizers.

Total throughput across the holding's marine terminals climbed 10% year on year to 21.8 million tonnes, 24% above the same period in 2024. Mineral fertilizer exports jumped 23.4% to 3.6 million tonnes, with shipments to Brazil up a quarter to 1.2 million tonnes and those to Africa more than tripling to 670,000 tonnes.

Galkin stressed that smooth operations depend on synchronizing every logistics link – railways, railcar turnover, cargo dispatch and vessel handling – and that the team relies on constantly updated forecasts, warehouse monitoring and backup scenarios to avert costly downtime.

The group's terminals span the Far East, Northwest and Azov-Black Sea basins, handling coal from Kuzbass, Khakassia, Eastern Siberia, Transbaikalia and Khabarovsk Krai. By year-end, Port Alliance will open a specialized mineral fertilizer complex in the Baltic, further widening its export arteries.