April 24, 2024 (EIRNS)—An April 23 article posted on InfoBRICS reported that India is in the process of expanding its much-needed imports of coal from Russia, via Russia’s far eastern port of Vladivostok. There are particularly large deposits of both hard and brown coal in Russia’s Lena Basin in the country’s Far East. Russia is currently the fourth largest provider of Indian coal imports. The article reported:
“Indian Consul General in Vladivostok Siddarth Gowrav visited the soon-to-be-unveiled Sukhodol coal terminal in Vladivostok as part of efforts to expand maritime cooperation with the Indian ports of Paradip and Jaigarh, which handled the largest quantities of Russian coal in the first quarter of 2024.… With an initial capacity of 12 million tons per annum, Sukhodol port will enable `small and medium-sized coal companies’ to have year-round navigation and a dedicated train station, thus ensuring that Russia can continue delivering coal even in the harshest winter conditions….
“Coal exports to India from Russia have only risen over the last half decade and are projected to continue increasing despite the constant barrage of pressure New Delhi experiences from the West for not severing ties with Moscow and imposing U.S.-led sanctions. Signaling the increasing relations is the fact that India’s eastern seaports are now taking precedence over western seaports, where Russian cargo must traverse European and, therefore, hostile waters.”
