A shipment of anthracite coal from South Africa has arrived in Ukraine, easing concerns the country may face coal shortages for power generation during the winter, the energy and coal industry ministry said Monday.

The Bulk China vessel docked at the Pivdenniy port Saturday evening, delivering 168,000 mt of South African coal that will be used by power generating companies in Ukraine, the ministry said.

"Unloading work has already started and first railway cars with coal will be dispatched to Trypilska Thermal Power Plant later this week," the ministry said in a statement posted on Facebook." The next ship with coal is expected to arrive on December 12."

Trypilska TPP is part of CenterEnergo, one of four major fossil fuel-burning power generating companies in Ukraine.

Ukraine plans to import about 250,000 mt of coal from South Africa in December, while another 170,000 mt is expected to be imported in January, according to Energy and Coal Industry Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn.

Ukraine, whose coal industry was disrupted by an armed conflict with pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk regions over the past 18 months, plans to step up coal imports to ensure it has enough coal for the winter.

Ukraine's reserves of anthracite, a type of coal mostly used by power plants in the country, fell by 74,700 mt over the past four days to 785,300 mt as of December 4, compared with 860,000 mt as of November 30, UkrEnergo said in the report.

Stocks of anthracite dropped after supplies to Ukrainian thermal power plants from Russia and from pro-Russian separatists-controlled Ukrainian territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions were suspended last month.

Supplies were suspended after Ukraine halted power supplies to Crimea, a Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia in March 2014, due to an attack on power transmission lines.

The attack is being investigated by the Ukrainian authorities.

Ukraine is traditionally a major producer of anthracite, but all the country's anthracite coal mines are located in those parts of Donetsk and Luhansk now controlled by the separatists.

Anthracite has higher calorific content among other types of coal and it has been widely used by thermal power plants throughout the country.

CenterEnergo incorporates Trypilska TPP in the Kiev region, Zmiyevska TPP in the Kharkiv region and Vuhlehirska TPP in the Donetsk region, with total installed capacity of 7,665 MW.