Brazil Vale signs $171 mln contract with shipyards

Mining giant Vale said Thursday it signed a $171.1 million contract with three Brazilian shipyards for the construction of 49 ships, barges and tugs. Fifteen tugboats will be added to the company's fleet of 14 boats. The first tugboat will be delivered this year and the others will be ready by 2011, Vale stated. The fleet will operate at Ponta da Madeira Maritime Terminal in Maranhao state, and at the Tubarao Complex in Espirito Santo Thirty-two barges and two pushers will be delivered by 2010. They will operate for Mina de Urucum in Mato Grosso do Sul state, transporting iron ore along the Brazil-Paraguay and Brazil-Argentina routes.
"With the orders, Vale intends to meet the growth in demand for logistics services in the next coming years," it said.