China Increasing Coal Imports as Power Needs Surge in Dry Bulk Market , International Shipping News 18/06/2026 A s geopolitical instability disrupts key global shipping routes, Stamatis Tsantanis, Chairman & CEO of global shipping companies Seanergy Maritime (NASDAQ: SHIP) and United Maritime (NASDAQ: USEA), warns that although the U.S. has helped offset some global oil supply constraints, it won’t be enough, with consumers ultimately continuing to bear higher costs. He also notes that China is increasing its reliance on coal as it constructs two power plants per week to meet growing power demand from AI and rising day-to-day energy needs. Following are Mr. Tsantanis’ comments: On Strait of Hormuz and Energy Markets: “The way we have been losing so many barrels of oil and natural gas from the markets is tremendous. The reason it hasn’t become a catastrophe so far is the fact that we have been using a lot of the inventory, but that’s going to run out pretty soon. It’s just a matter of time before we see a big depletion of the global reserves of oil and natural gas. The U.S. has come in to pick up the slack in a number of ways for global oil demand, but this is not close to being enough for this year. We’re still eating into a lot of the reserves and longer distances mean longer ton-miles and that makes freight more expensive for everybody—and most importantly, for the end consumer who is paying for everything. There’s also the El Niño effect. Forecasters believe there is an 8% chance of El Niño in 2026, and that means there could be a significantly increased need for energy from the summer months through the second half of the year. On Rising Diesel Costs and Impact on Clients & Consumers Increased bunker fuel costs for our ships, as well as a massive increase in ton-miles required to go around all of these problematic areas like the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, create increasing inflationary pressure for consumers. There’s no way you can cut through a milit