Richards Bay Coal Terminal exports rise by 10% as Transnet rebounds

Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) exported 52.08 million tonnes of coal in 2024, an increase of 10% on the previous year’s volumes as state-run logistics provider Transnet slowly gets back on track under new management.

RBCT CEO Alan Waller said on 24 January during a media presentation at the terminal that 60 million tonnes was the goal. But for now, that’s an aspiration.

“Fifty-five million tonnes should be achieved in 2025; the question is: can we get to 60 million?” said Waller.

Speaking about the improvements, Waller said Transnet CEO Michelle Phillips and the new management team deserved much of the credit.

“The new leadership has paved the way to allow for collaboration. We had tried for a number of years as industry to influence things but it was not well received,” he said.

In recent years, Transnet’s mismanagement and operational woes have cost South Africa’s mining sector tens of billions of rands annually in lost export revenue, with ripple effects across the wider economy, including lost inflows of foreign exchange.

This state of affairs has been thrown into sharp relief by the curtailed export flows from RBCT, which is designed specifically for handling coal by rail and cannot switch to trucks as an alternative.

In 2017, RBCT’s coal export volumes reached a record 76.47 million tonnes before gradually falling to just over 70 million tonnes in 2020. As the wheels came flying off at Transnet, the pace of RBCT’s export decline accelerated, hitting a record low of 47.2 million tonnes in 2023.

Last year’s numbers need to be read in that light. The bounce in 2024 was off a low base and was about 30% less than the peak achieved in 2017.

RBCT is one of the world’s largest coal terminals and has the capacity to handle and ship 91 million tonnes a year, so it is an under-utilised asset.

But a turnaround needs to begin somewhere.

The terminal itself is a sight to behold from the vantage point of its 42m-high control tower, which offers expansive 360-degree views.

Mountains of coal lie stark and dark beneath a sea-blue sky, the facility jarringly ringed by lush green vegetation in a collision of colours.

In the harbour itself, this correspondent counted 15 ships waiting to be loaded, and many others were no doubt out there beyond my view.

Most of the coal that passes through RBCT is bound for India. Of the just over 52 million tonnes shipped in 2024, 44 million tonnes were destined for Asia — by far the world’s largest market for the fossil fuel. India alone accounted for 25.75 million tonnes, almost half the total. DM