Tag: Vale

Says China shipowners association The China Shipowners Association (CSA) said on Thursday it will closely monitor Brazilian miner Vale's mega vessel operations as one of its top priorities this year, underscoring the intense pressure Vale faces from its largest customer.China is the world's largest iron ore importer, and Vale is spending billions of dollars on a fleet of giant ore carriers, called Valemaxes, to slash transport costs and speed up shipments to its top customer.But the miner's ambitious plans have collided with stiff protest from the influential CSA, which fears the mega vessels will harm the domestic shipping industry and has successfully lobbied Beijing to slap a ban on Valemaxes from docking at Chinese ports."The global freight market will remain sluggish and the glut faced by the shipping sector won't improve in the short term," the CSA said on its website. Local media reported that some Chinese shipyards have not received new orders since the middle of last year, putting them on the brink of going bankrupt unless the shipping sector improves. Source: Reuters

At present, no Chinese port has regulatory approval to receive ships more than 300,000 tonnes China's ban on large ships is limited to Vale's giant iron ore vessels, shipping sources said on Thursday, clearing up confusion in the maritime community as to whether new government regulations could cover other smaller ships.The China Shipowners Association provided more details on the rules announced this week to bar dry bulk vessels and oil tankers that exceeded approved port capacities, a move by Beijing to protect the domestic shipping industry.At present, no Chinese port has regulatory approval to receive ships more than 300,000 tonnes, sparking concerns that dozens of vessels already trading with China could be banned.The industry group, however, said the rules covered only dry bulk ships that were more than 350,000 tonnes. There are only a few vessels of that size, and all are being used to transport iron ore for Vale, the world's largest exporter of the steel-making ingredient, an industry official said."Everyone knows that China can change its mind very fast. It's a game of chess between China and Vale," said Hans Navik, a shipping analyst for Norwegian research group Nena.Oil tankers of more than 450,000 deadweight tonnes were also ...

Stricter Oversight Could Restrict Brazilian Miner Vale's Ability to Deliver Iron Ore China's central government put a tight rein on the ability of a new breed of supersize iron-ore freighters to stop at Chinese ports, potentially complicating efforts by Brazilian mining company Vale SA to gain access to the lucrative market.China's Transport Ministry called for more stringent review for accepting such ships into ports. It also said port operators no longer would enjoy discretion in allowing dry-bulk and oil ships exceeding current weight limits to berth at the ports."The safety outlook regarding oversized ships is not good, and the risks from their stopping at ports is on the higher side," the ministry said on its website Tuesday. China had given port operators discretion to permit oversize ships to berth three times a year.The ministry's statement stopped short of an outright ban on the ships, an apparent compromise in the face of competing agendas from Chinese companies that see profit and peril in the ships. The 361-meter-long, 400,000-deadweight-ton Vale Beijing, one of the new breed of 'very large ore carriers'The move appeared aimed at Vale, one of the world's largest producers of iron ore, a critical ingredient for making steel. Vale ...

Accessibility to Chinese ports - domestic ship owners strongly protested the arrival of the vessel Two of the world's biggest iron ore carriers are due to arrive in the Philippines for the first time next month, shipping data showed, as Brazilian mining giant Vale looks to use the country as an alternative base to reach Chinese ports.China, the world's largest iron ore importer and Vale's top market, has yet to fully open its seaports to the giant vessels after domestic ship owners strongly protested the arrival of the first and only vessel of the type into the country in late December.With accessibility to Chinese ports uncertain, Vale has been forced to rely on its transshipment hub in the Philippines, a costlier alternative that involves employing more vessels and workers."I'm not surprised that Vale is sending its ships to the Philippines. They have no choice with China's ports still closed off to them," said a Singapore-based ship broker."They have to keep these ships moving or face major losses." The 400,000-deadweight-tonne Vale China is due to arrive in Subic Bay Freeport, located in the Philippines' main Luzon island, on Feb. 22, shipping data showed.That is 10 days after similar-sized Vale Brasil is ...

The ship arrival was momentous Onboard the Berge Everest was around 350,000 tonnes of iron ore, according to industry sources, enough to make the steel for more than three Golden Gate bridges. After unloading its cargo at the port of Dalian, the vessel has started its journey home to Brazil, it emerged last week.The ship's arrival was momentous, because of both its scale and the scale of the gamble by Vale, the world's biggest iron ore producer, and the wider shipping industry. Brazilian miner Vale is bringing about a sea change in the shipping industry with its $8bn (5bn) roll-out of an unprecedented fleet of 35 massive iron ore carriers, including the Berge Everest.Classed as very large ore carriers (VLOCs), the biggest of the "Valemax" fleet boasts a 400,000 dead weight tonnage (dwt) - the amount a ship can safely carry - which far exceeds the 364,000dwt of the previous record holder.Vale's new fleet underscores a much wider trend to boost the capacity of carriers of dry bulk commodities such as iron and coal.Capesize ships - megaships so-called because they were too big to travel through the Panama or Suez Canals so went via Cape Horn or the Cape of ...

388,000-tonne vessel, Berge Everest, completes its journey The first of Vale's giant dry bulk vessels to arrive in China has completed delivery of its iron ore cargo, shipping data showed on Tuesday, a key step forward in the Brazilian miner's plan to cut shipping costs to its biggest market.Reuters Freightviews and independent shipping data confirmed the 388,000-tonne vessel, Berge Everest, had departed China's Port of Dalian over the weekend for Singapore, where it will likely refuel for its journey back to Brazil.Draught measurements indicated the ship had unloaded all or nearly all of its iron ore cargo in Dalian.Vale has ordered 35 of the world's largest dry bulk carriers, of which six are already on the water, at an estimated cost of $4.2 billion from Chinese and Korean shipyards.The world's second largest miner had been trying since June 2011 to get Chinese authorities to allow the megaships to enter the country's ports. Chinese port officials have declined to comment on the arrival of Berge Everest, leaving it unclear as to whether other giant Vale ships will be allowed to dock in the country's ports.Five other giant ships operated by Vale, the world's top iron ore producer, were not expected to ...

First of Vale's giant ships to dock at a China port China has received the first of Vale's giant iron ore vessels, industry sources said on Wednesday, a major breakthrough for the Brazilian miner after months of uncertainty over the fleet's access to the world's top steelmaker.Top iron ore exporter Vale is spending billions of dollars to build the world's biggest dry bulk ships to cut the cost of shipping the steelmaking ingredient to China, but until now had failed to gain Beijing's approval for the six vessels already on the water to even stop at a Chinese port.Vale's 388,000-tonne vessel, Berge Everest, began delivering its iron ore cargo at China's Dalian port on Wednesday and was expected to depart on Saturday, shipping sources said."The ship is unloading iron ore after arriving this morning. They will need 2-1/2 days to discharge such cargo," said a port agent."It is not clear at present who will buy the iron ore."Reuters Freightviews and independent shipping data confirmed the vessel was anchored at the port. Industry sources said there was around 350,000 tonnes of iron ore onboard.Vale officials in China and Brazil declined to comment on Wednesday. A spokeswoman for the ship's owner, Singapore-based ...

One of Vale's mega ore carriers- the Berge Everest One of Vale's mega ore carriers, among the world's biggest, is expected to arrive in the Philippines this week to unload its maiden cargo of Brazilian iron ore as the miner's fleet remains locked out of its biggest market, China. Vale has been forced to divert its fleet of six mega vessels to the Philippines, Italy, Oman and other destinations while waiting for Beijing to give it access to Chinese ports.The 388,000-tonne Berge Everest, leased from Singapore-based Berge Bulk, is the first of Vale's planned fleet of 35 giant vessels to travel to Asia fully loaded with iron ore.After a brief stop to refuel in Singapore this month, the ship will dock in the Port of Villanueva in the Philippines, according to Reuters Freightviews. It is expected to then transfer the iron ore to two smaller capesize vessels, bound most likely for China, a port agent said."It seems as though the ship will be unloading in the Philippines. I guess we will be the iron ore centre for Vale in Asia until their China problem is resolved," said a domestic port agent, who wished not to be identified because his company ...

Closely monitor safety standards Chinese shipowners called on Beijing to closely monitor safety standards for a new class of ship commissioned by Brazil's Vale SA, the world's largest iron-ore miner by output.Vale is developing a fleet of 400,000-deadweight-ton "Valemax" ships that Chinese shipping companies have lobbied against, and one of the first of which had to turn back with ballast-tank cracks after setting off with a load from a Brazilian port.Chinese shippers believe the ships, the world's largest by cargo capacity, could consolidate Vale's already-considerable sway over the market for iron ore shipped overseas.Source: The Wall Street Journal

This week Vale Beijing cracked two of its ballast tanks after loading ore for its maiden voyage Half a century ago, Brazilian miner Vale (VALE5.SA) upended the global iron-ore market by building massive vessels to ship its ore to Japan.But its nascent effort to do so again with China has been anything but smooth sailing.News this weekend that the Vale Beijing, the world's largest iron-ore carrier, had cracked two of its ballast tanks after loading ore for its maiden voyage is the latest stumble in a bold, multibillion-dollar plan to bolster its trading power.The mining giant's plan to cut freight costs by ordering a fleet of 35 of the world's biggest iron-ore carriers as it aims to tap demand in China, the world's No. 1 importer of the raw material used to produce steel, has faced stiff opposition from China and now new concerns about vessel safety."They have had several setbacks now in less than half a year -- all the issues with regards to whether they will be allowed into China," said George Lazaridis, head of research with Greek ship broker Intermodal. "They have not been able to compete on the main route they wanted (from) Brazil to China."China ...