Coal is an abundant commodity which is mined in more than 50 countries with no world dependence in any one region. Coking coal is used to produce coke to feed blast furnaces in the production of steel. An increase in seaborne transportation of coking coal has been primarily driven by an increase in steel production. The increase in import activity has occurred in a number of regions. Currently, Asia and Western Europe are major importers of coking coal. Australia and Indonesia provide a significant amount of coking coal to Asia, while South Africa and the United States are major sources for Western Europe. Steam coal is primarily used for power generation. A number of developing countries have decided to capitalize on the recent dramatic increase in oil and gas prices to build new power plants that utilize coal. This has resulted in significant growth in the steam coal trade. The most dramatic growth has occurred in China and Indonesia, both of which have increased their export capacity in the intra-Asian market (World Coal Institute, 2005).