Singapore — There has been a sharp increase in the number of vessels laden with coal lying idle off China’s coastline following the introduction of import restrictions in April on thermal coal at the country’s major ports, market sources said this week. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now Ships were queuing off a number of ports in the southern provinces of Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian, along the eastern coast and up to Shandong province, sources said. “Imported coal not meant for local enterprises’ usage is not allowed to clear customs,” a China-based trader said, adding that the import restrictions were putting a lot of pressure on the market. S&P Global Platts cFlow vessel tracking software showed Friday that 243 ships loaded with coal were stationary off the coast of China, up from a count of 102 ships when the previous round of port […]