The 400,000 dwt ore carrier Yuan Zhuo Hai, owned by China Ore Shipping, arrived at the anchorage of Qingdao on 30 June, the first Valemax ore carrier to call at a Chinese port for two years.
AIS data from IHS Maritime revealed that the carrier’s destination is Dongjiakou port. Its draft fell from 23 m at Subic Bay to 21 m at the anchorage out of Qingdao, which means the ship was not fully laden.
Yuan Zhuo Hai, formerly named 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 data from IHS Maritime.
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 Brazilian iron ore giant Vale at the price of USD445 million.
Related news:Valemaxes allowed to dock at Chinese ore terminals
At the same time, China Ore Shipping signed contracts with Vale to charter the fleet for shipping iron ore and manganese ore for 20 years with the option to renew the contracts for another five years. About 6 million tonnes of ore will be shipped, according to the contracts.
Currently, Chinese ports, including Dongjiakou in Qingdao, Dalian Port, Lianyungang Port, are building large ore terminals.
According to from Shanghai International Shipping Institute analyst Yang Yongfeng,”The most direct influence of mega ships is to enhance the productivity at these ports.
“Cargo throughput at these ports will also be increased – 400,000dwt carriers are coming to China,” he said.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
