March 26 (Reuters) -

Coal exports from the busy U.S. port of Baltimore have been

disrupted following the collapse of a bridge that was struck by

a massive cargo ship early Tuesday morning, rail and coal

companies said.

Rail company CSX on Tuesday said its existing

coal customers should expect "potential shipment delays" after

the accident, for which the U.S. Coast Guard is still conducting

search and rescue operations.

CSX owns the Curtis Bay coal pier in Baltimore, located near

the site of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which

CSX plans to keep operational for now as it continues to "assess

the circumstances," the company told Reuters in a statement.

CSX said it currently has capacity to dispatch additional

trains to CSX-served coal terminals in Baltimore before it

reaches pile space limits.

Coal producer CONSOL Energy ( CEIX ), which has a marine

export terminal in the Port of Baltimore, also said that vessel

access in and out of its terminal was also delayed.

During the first nine months of 2023, Baltimore was the

second biggest port for U.S. coal exports, behind Norfolk,

Virginia, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy

Information Administration (EIA).

During the first nine months of 2023, Baltimore exported

about 20.3 million short tons of coal, up from 14.3 million

short tons during the same period in 2022.

About 13.3 million short tons of exports from Baltimore

during the first nine months of 2023 were steam coal and 7.0

million short tons were metallurgical coal.