Russia has virtually stopped the passage of Kazakh coal through the Baltic ports.
Russian Railways has not approved a single request for the transit of Kazakh coal to Russian Baltic Sea ports for October and November 2026. The reason was the congestion in the railway infrastructure due to the diversion of freight flows from the Azov-Black Sea basin to the northwest, reported Vedomosti from the Argos agency.
The restrictions were introduced against the background of the previously observed increase in the transit of Kazakhstan. In the months of January-July, the transport of coal from Kazakhstan through Russia increased by 20%, to 7.8 million tons, of which more than 4.7 million tons passed through the port of Ust-Luga.
However, in October the transit volume of Kazakh coal decreased to 30 thousand tons. At the same time, the restrictions also affect Russian exporters: in November, Russian Railways plans to use about 55% of the capacity of the parallel route to transport coal to Ost-Luga.
Increased logistics costs put additional pressure on suppliers. According to NEFT Research data, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the cost of transporting coal in the Northwest ports rose to $15-25 per ton.
At the same time, the transit of Kazakh coal is provided for in the intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Kazakhstan, signed in November 2025. However, the heavy load on the railway network limits the possibility of transporting along the Baltic route.
As a result, the redistribution of cargo flows in favor of northwestern ports complicates coal exports for both Kazakh and Russian companies, increases freight costs and reduces available capacity.