Brazilian miner Vale this week docked its first skyscraper-sized ore ship at one of China’s newest deep water ports, putting into motion Beijing’s strategy to diversify its sources of iron ore.
The fully-laden Valemax iron ore carrier, named Sea Maranhao, arrived at the Port of Yantai in Shandong province about mid-day local time on Wednesday after departing Brazil’s Ponta Da Madeira Maritime Terminal on June 20, according to S&P Global Platts and maritime intelligence website MarineTraffic.
Vale currently operates 67 Valemax ships around the world, making its iron ore shipments to China price competitive with those from Australian miners, who mostly use smaller Capesize ships for the shorter journey.
