The process of supplying a ship with coal fuel, or the activity of mining or gathering coal.
From coal + -ing (gerund suffix). Originated in the 18th-19th centuries when coal became crucial for powering steamships, requiring special port facilities dedicated to loading coal aboard vessels.
Coaling stations were crucial infrastructure during the age of steam power—they were scattered across every ocean so coal-powered ships could refuel on long journeys, much like gas stations today!
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