Tag: VLOC

Following the giant VLOC "Stella Banner's" grounding on February 24, the 300.000 DWT vessel was intentionally sunk on Friday approximately 150km from Maranhão.

BIMCO recently released an analysis on Converted Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC), marking that since June 2017, 43% of the VLOC fleet have been sent to the scrapyards, while 18% of the fleet is either idled or damaged. 

A giant VLOC loaded with iron ore experienced trouble off the coast of Brazil, raising fears that the vessel could sink. Namely, 'Stellar Banner' developed a severe list to starboard on February 25, after leaving the Vale-owned Ponta da Madeira terminal in São Luís, Brazil.

On 31st March, shipping mourns a relatively recent tragedy: The loss of the South Korean VLOC ‘Stellar Daisy’ in 2017, which took almost entire crew at the bottom of the South Atlantic.

A South Korean court granted the arrest warrant for the ex-head of maritime affairs at Polaris Shipping, on January 24. However, the court dismissed the arrest warrants for the head of Polaris as well as an inspector from the Korean Register and two men who worked for a private survey firm. The Busan Coast Guard had requested a warrant of arrest on the 'charge of violation of shipping safety law'.

The Busan Coast Guard has requested a warrant of arrest for the chairman of Polaris Shipping, the South Korean shipping company which owned the ill-fated bulk carrier Stellar Daisy. The Marshal Islands-flagged very large ore carrier (VLOC) went missing on 31st of March 2017 and is assumed to have sunk in the South Atlantic,

Very Large Ore Carrier 'China Steel Innovator' collided with the stern of the berthed containership 'Ever Laden' on June 19, while it was maneuvering at Kaohsiung Port, Taiwan, upon arriving from Australia, carrying ore cargo. Both ships sustained damages, but no injuries were reported.

The 1994-built very large ore carrier 'Stellar Samba', owned by the South Korean company Polaris Shipping, was stuck for days off the Brazilian coast, after it sustained fire at its generator on 26 May. Initial estimations suggest that the fire erupted in one of the ship's generators reportedly due to an oil leakage.

South Korean shipyards were damaged because of a decrease in demand for new ships, due to slow global economic growth, and low crude and gas prices in the past years. These developments show the ability of Chinese shipbuilders to win orders from South Korean shipping and build very large ore carriers. 

Korea lines announced they have ordered the construction of two very large ore carriers at Hyundai Heavy Industries. The new VLOCs are expected to be delivered by the first quarter of 2020 and they are considered the largest of Korea Line's fleet.