OREANDA-NEWS. The Kashima port, in Japan, received a Valemax vessel for the first time this week. The Vale Brasil, which has a capacity to transport up to 400,000 metric tons of ore, arrived at Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal's (NSSMC) Kashima port on June 18. The Valemax vessel, loaded with 390,000 metric tons of iron ore, first berthed at the ports of Oita and Kimitsu. The vessel then sailed to Kashima to deliver the rest of its cargo (150,000 metric tons).

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NSSMC received its first Valemax delivery at Oita in June 2012, while Kimitsu saw its first delivery in January last year.

So far, the Valemax vessels have performed 355 berthing and un-berthing operations in different ports around the world. The current fleet of 30 Valemax ships have called at Ponta da Madeira and Tubarão (Brazil), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Taranto (Italy), Oita and Kimitsu (Japan), Villanueva (Philippines), Gwangyang and Dangjin (Korea), Sohar (Oman), Vale's Teluk Rubiah distribution center (Malaysia) as well as the ports of Dalian and Lianyungang (China), and now Kashima. They have also called at Vale's two floating transfer stations in Subic Bay, in the Philippines. Vale has already exported 64 million tons of iron ore through these vessels.

This type of ship is considered eco-friendly as its carbon dioxide emissions per ton of ore transported are 35% less than those of conventional ships with around 200,000 metric tons of capacity. This is because of the use of more modern equipment that consumes less diesel. Valemax ore carriers adhere to strict safety standards and will contribute to reductions in the cost of seaborne transportation of iron ore to steel companies.