Welcome to Shipping Online!   [Sign In]
Back to Homepage
Already a Member? Sign In
News Content

Huge Vale Ship Arrived in Qingdao with 300,000 Tons of Iron Ore

A large ship owned by Vale SA recently anchored in the eastern port of Qingdao, spurring speculation the world’s leading iron ore producer will for the first time unload in the eastern port.

The very large ore carrier (VLOC) called Shandong Da Ren arrived with 300,000 tons of iron ore on October 2 and departed two days later. It is unclear if it was allowed to unload its cargo.

Shandong Da Ren is one of four VLOCs that Vale rents to Shandong Province’s largest shipping company, Shandong Shipping Corp., but it is operated by the Brazilian miner.

The vessel left the Brazilian port of Tubarao in August and arrived at a Vale center at Subic Bay in the Philippines at the end of September, a source with knowledge of the matter said. After unloading some ore there, it sailed to China.

A Ministry of Transport regulation says China’s coastal ports can only accept ships carrying less than 300,000 tons of cargo.

Vale has contracts with Chinese shipping companies to transport its iron ore to China. Vale has wanted to have its ships arrived in Chinese ports to unload ore in recent years, something Chinese shipping companies have resisted.

On December 27, 2011, a vessel called the Valemax, with a capacity of 388,000 tons, docked in Dalian, but the government forced it to leave after protests from domestic shipping companies.

In September this year, Vale signed cooperation contracts with China COSCO Holdings Co. Ltd. and China Merchants Energy Shipping Co. Ltd. for the two Chinese companies to build 20 ships with a capacity of 400,000 tons to transport Vale’s ore.

A source from China COSCO Holdings said the details of the agreements have not been established, and the company has not made plans to operate 400,000-ton carriers.

“It is a trend of the shipping industry to use large ships,” the source said. “In the future, the 400,000-ton carrier could directly sail to Chinese ports, which would cut Chinese steel companies’ spending on importing iron ore.”

An analyst from Shanghai Shipping Exchange said the government might allow ships with capacity of 400,000 tons to enter ports in the future because many ports, such as Qingdao and Dalian, have the capacity to handle them.

Another shipping industry analyst said that if Vale’s large ships are allowed to dock directly in Chinese ports, it could set up an onshore distribution base in China, and a regional network for shipping ore could be set up along the coast.
Source: Caixin

About Us| Service| Membership and Fee| AD Service| Help| Sitemap| Links| Contact Us| Terms of Use