Steel Authority of India Ltd, the country's largest steel producer, has booked a 75,000-ton dry bulk carrier to ship coal from the U.S. East Coast to India, according to Reuters Freightviews.

The fixture was set for loading in Newport News, Virginia, between Jan. 25 and Feb. 5.

The firm last imported coal from the U.S. East Coast in November.

Deadly floods in Queensland, Australia's largest coal producing state, have severely impacted port operations and forced Asian steel producers and utilities to find alternate supplies from Indonesia to South Africa to the United States. (Reuters)