Port of Koper handles coking coal for steelworks in Czechia
A few weeks ago, the Ionic Pride, a bulk ship loaded with carrying coking coal, docked at the Port of Koper. The vessel, carrying around 75,000 tonnes of coal and destined for steelworks in the Czech Republic, had left Australia a month earlier.
The Ionic Pride bulker, which was built in 2017, has delivered coal to the Port of Koper. Afterwards, the freight was moved by rail to Liberty Ostrava, a steel mill in Czechia that produces more than 2 million tonnes of steel a year, which is mainly used in the construction and engineering sectors. The Czech steelworks produces its products with minimal environmental impact. The steelworks’ website shows that its emissions are two-thirds below the EU’s emission limits. The company will further modernise its production by 2023, replacing existing furnaces and reducing particulate emissions by an additional 60 per cent.
Coking or metallurgical coal is a type of coal used to produce high-quality coke, one of the key ingredients in the steelmaking process. On the other hand, there is thermal or steam coal, which is used to generate electricity and heat. In this process, thermal coal is ground into powder and burned in boilers to produce heat.