24 September 2026
Executive Summary
An explosive attack has forced the suspension of railway operations serving Glencore’s Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia, highlighting the vulnerability of commodity supply chains to disruption between the production site and export port.
Cerrejón said explosives were used to attack its railway network on Tuesday night near Uribia in La Guajira, northern Colombia.
A train was damaged.
No injuries were reported.
Railway operations have been suspended while Colombian security forces secure the area and the infrastructure is inspected.
Mining operations themselves are continuing.
Cerrejón said this was the sixth attack against its infrastructure during 2026.
The extent of the damage and the timetable for reopening the railway had not been established at the time of publication.
The important supply-chain distinction is that coal production can continue while the ability to transport that coal towards export markets is interrupted.
UK Impact
Direct UK exposure to Colombian coal is substantially lower than historically, but the incident remains relevant to businesses involved in:
- Commodity trading.
- Mining.
- Bulk shipping.
- Industrial energy.
- Infrastructure.
- Marine insurance.
- Political-risk insurance.
The wider lesson also applies to mining and commodity projects globally.
Businesses often assess the security of the mine, factory or production asset while giving less attention to the infrastructure connecting that asset to the port.
Global Impact
Cerrejón is one of the world’s major open-pit coal mining operations.
Its export system depends upon an integrated logistics chain linking mine production to rail transportation and onward maritime shipment.
An interruption at any point can restrict exports even where the underlying mine remains operational.
Repeated attacks also create cumulative consequences.
These can include:
- Repair costs.
- Security expenditure.
- Inventory accumulation.
- Train scheduling disruption.
- Vessel delays.
- Port scheduling problems.
- Contractual delivery risk.
If coal continues to be produced while rail transportation is suspended, stock can accumulate at the mine.
When the railway eventually reopens, the business may then need to move both normal production and accumulated inventory through the same logistics system.
Our View
Businesses should map the infrastructure between the asset and the customer.
Companies should ask:
- Is production continuing?
- Is the export railway operating?
- How extensive is the damage?
- When can inspection begin?
- Is there an alternative rail route?
- Can road transport substitute?
- Is sufficient trucking capacity available?
- Could inventory accumulate at the mine?
- Is storage capacity sufficient?
- Are vessels already scheduled at the export terminal?
- Could loading dates be missed?
- Could demurrage arise?
- Are security measures being increased?
- Have previous attacks affected the same infrastructure?
- Does political-violence insurance respond?
- Are business-interruption policies dependent upon physical damage to the insured’s own property?
The incident demonstrates a fundamental supply-chain principle.
Production is not supply until the product can reach the customer.
A mine can continue operating normally while an attack hundreds of kilometres further along its logistics network effectively interrupts its access to international markets.
Risk Indicator: HIGH – COLOMBIA, RAIL FREIGHT & COMMODITY LOGISTICS
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The information contained within these Market Alerts is provided for general market awareness and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, legal, investment, regulatory or insurance advice. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy at the time of publication using multiple reputable and independently verified sources, geopolitical events, legislation, regulation and market conditions may change rapidly. Readers should obtain appropriate professional advice before acting upon any information contained herein.
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