OREANDA-NEWS. September 6, 2012. A Valemax ship will dock at the Villanueva port in the Mindanao island, in the Philippines, for the first time in October. The world’s biggest iron ore carrier, with the capacity to transport up to 400,000 metric tons of iron ore and capable of reducing carbon emissions by 35% per ton of ore transported, was loaded in the Ponta da Madeira Maritime Terminal, in Maranhao state, Brazil, in the end of August, and will deliver the cargo to Japan's JFE Steel at its Philippines Sinter Corp (PSC) in Mindanao. JFE is one of Vale's biggest clients.

This will be the maiden voyage of the ship, called Vale Minas Gerais. The vessel was the 14th of the Valemax series to be delivered.

The Valemax ships are part of Vale’s strategy to reduce the economical distance between Brazil and Asia, the main consumer market for iron ore. With the goal of maximizing the efficiency of its operations and meet global demand, Vale conducts several initiatives to achieve greater economies of scale. The vessels are part of a logistics solution linking the company’s maritime terminals in Brazil and its Asian and European clients. The very large ore carriers adhere to strict safety standards and contribute significantly towards reducing the carbon footprint in the long haul transportation of iron ore as well as to reductions in the cost of seaborne transportation of iron ore to steelmakers.

So far, the Valemax vessels have called at the ports of Tubarao and Ponta da Madeira (Brazil), Taranto (Italy), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Sohar (Oman) and Oita (Japan). They have also regularly called at Vale's floating transfer station in Subic Bay, in the Philippines. Mindanao port becomes then a new port destination in the region. By the end of 2013, there will be a total of 35 similar vessels available to transport Vale’s iron ore – 19 owned by Vale and 16 chartered from international shipowners.