China Ore Shipping-owned Valemax Yuan Zhuo Hai arrived at the anchorage of Qingdao on 30 June, and is expected to call at Dongjiakou port, marking an end to the government’s 2012 decision to ban Valemaxes from Chinese ports.
Before the ban was imposed, Valemaxes were only allowed to call at Chinese ports on a case-by-case basis.
Yuan Zhuo Hai, formerly Ore Majishan, was built by China Rongsheng Heavy Industries (now China Huarong Energy Company) and delivered in July 2014. The ship is 360 m long and 65 m wide, according to IHS Maritime data.
COSCO Group and China Shipping Group, two of China’s largest shipping companies, formed the joint-venture China Ore Shipping in May 2015, and acquired four used Valemaxes from Vale for USD445 million.
Related news:China orders ports to control Valemax entries
At the same time, China Ore Shipping has inked contracts with Vale, which will charter China Ore Shipping’s fleet to ship iron ore and manganese ore for a term of 20+5 years (Vale can choose to renew the contracts for another five years after 20 years). About 6 million tonnes of ore will be shipped, according to the contracts.
Currently, Chinese ports, including Dongjiakou in Qingdao, Dalian port, and Lianyungang port, have large ore terminals under construction. “The most direct influence of mega-ships is to enhance the productivity at these ports,” commented Zhang Yongfeng, shipping analyst from Shanghai International Shipping Institute.
“Cargo throughput at these ports will also be increased,” Zhang noted.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
