Valemax

Class overview
Builders: Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, South Korea
Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries, China
STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, South Korea
Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry, China
Operators: Vale Shipping (initial)
STX Pan Ocean
Omar Shipping Company
Berge Bulk
Built: 2011–2013
In service: 2011–
Planned: 35[1]
Completed: 6
General characteristics [2][3]
Type: Bulk carrier
Classification: Det Norske Veritas
Tonnage: 380,000–400,000 DWT
Length: 360–362 m (1,181–1,188 ft)
Beam: 65 m (213 ft)
Draught: 22–23 m (72–75 ft)
Depth: 30 m (98 ft)
Main engine: Low-speed diesel engine, 29,000 kW
Propulsion: Fixed-pitch propeller
Speed: 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)

The Valemax ships are a fleet of very large ore carriers (VLOC) chartered by the Brazilian mining company Vale S.A. to carry iron ore from Brazil to European and Asian ports. The Chinamax ships with a capacity ranging from 380,000 to 400,000 tons deadweight are the largest bulk carriers ever built and among the longest ships currently in service.[2]

In 2008 Vale placed orders for twelve 400,000-ton Valemax ships to be constructed by Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries in China and ordered seven more ships from South Korean Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in 2009. In addition sixteen more ships of similar size will be built in China and South Korea for other shipping companies, and chartered to Vale under long-term contracts. In late 2011 Vale decided to sell the ships it planned to own by itself to other shipping companies and charter them back.

The first Valemax vessel, Vale Brasil, was delivered in 2011 and all 35 ships are expected to be in service by 2013.

Contents

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History

Construction

The first Valemax vessels were ordered on 3 August 2008 when Vale signed a contract with the Chinese shipbuilder Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries for the construction of twelve 400,000-ton ore carriers. The contract, worth $1.6 billion, was the world's biggest single shipbuilding contract by deadweight tonnage.[4][5] The first Chinese-built Valemax vessel, Vale China, was launched at the Nantong shipyard on 9 July 2011 and is expected to call a Chinese port on its first commercial voyage after it was delivered on 25 November 2011.[6][7][8][9] Two other Valemax vessels under construction at Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries shipyard, Vale Dongjiakou and Vale Dalian, have also been launched as of November 2011.[10][11] Doubts have been cast about the Chinese shipbuilder's ability to deliver any of the very large ore carriers ordered by Vale in time.[12] In May 2011 it was announced that due to delays in construction only two or three Valemax vessels will be delivered from the Chinese shipyard in 2011 instead of the planned six.[13][14] Furthermore, recent reports now claim that the ships ordered by Vale have a capacity of only 380,000 tons, even though according to the Det Norske Veritas database entry the Vale China has a deadweight tonnage of 400,606 tons and in the past Vale has referred to the ships ordered from Rongsheng as 400,000-ton vessels. The reduction in cargo capacity may be due to the reluctance of Chinese officials to accept the 400,000-ton ships to Chinese ports.[6][15][16][17]

On 26 October 2009[18] Vale ordered four Valemax vessels from the South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) for $460 million.[19] Further three ships were ordered from DSME in July 2010, bringing the total order to seven 400,000-ton Valemax vessels.[20] Despite receiving the order later than the Chinese shipyard, DSME launched the first Valemax class ore carrier, Vale Brasil, on 31 December 2010 and delivered her to Vale in March 2011.[18] The second ship, Vale Rio de Janeiro, was delivered on 22 September 2011.[21] The third ship, formerly named Vale Sao Luis but later renamed Vale Italia, was delivered on 25 October 2011.[22]

In addition to the ships Vale ordered for itself further sixteen ships of similar size will be built for other shipping companies and chartered to Vale under exclusive long-term contracts, bringing the total fleet under Vale to 35 vessels. Eight of the ships will be built by South Korean shipbuilder STX Offshore & Shipbuilding in Jinhae for STX Pan Ocean, which signed a 25-year contract with Vale in 2009.[23][24] The first ship for STX Pan Ocean, Vale Beijing, was delivered on 27 September 2011 and another VLOC is expected to take delivery later this year. The remaining ships will be delivered in 2012 (four ships) and 2013 (two ships).[25] The deadweight tonnage of the Vale Beijing, 374,400 tons, is slightly smaller than that of the first Valemax ships built by DSME.[26][17]

On 30 April 2007 Berge Bulk signed a contract with the Chinese shipbuilding company Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry for the construction of four 388,000-ton very large ore carriers. Although initially scheduled for delivery in 2010, the first vessel, Berge Everest, was delivered on 23 September 2011 and the others, Berge Aconcagua, Berge Jaya and Berge Neblina, will follow in 2012.[27][28][29] The ships have been chartered by Vale and, despite slight differences in design and contract date predating that of the ships ordered by Vale, they are also referred to as Valemax vessels.[30][31]

On 2 November 2008 Oman Shipping Company signed a framework agreement for the construction of four 400,000-ton vessels to transport iron ore from Brazil to the port of Sohar in Oman, where Vale is expected to open a steel plant in near future.[32] The ships, reportedly named Jazer, Yanqul, Al Kamil and Wafi, will also be built by Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries.[13][33]

Career

On 24 May 2011 the Vale Brasil received her first cargo at the Brazilian port Terminal MarĂ­timo de Ponta da Madeira, 391,000 tons of iron ore bound for Dalian in China.[34] However, in June, after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, the ship was rerouted to Taranto, Italy, and turned back towards the Atlantic Ocean.[35] There had been speculation that the Vale Brasil was not allowed to enter the Chinese port fully laden, but according to Vale the destination was changed due to commercial, not political reasons.[36] The ship arrived at the port of Taranto on 14 July 2011 to discharge her cargo.[37] The first very large ore carrier chartered by Vale, the Berge Everest, arrived to Dalian on 28 December 2011[38] and another Valemax ship is expected to call the Rotterdam soon.[39]

Initially Vale planned to own and manage a fleet of 19 Valemax vessels by itself to control the wildly fluctuating charter prices for large bulk carriers, which had dropped from US$233,988 per day in June 2008 to as low as US$2,400 by December of the same year. However, because of the global economic downturn and the reluctance of Chinese ports to accept the fully laden ships due to environmental concerns the new board of directors decided to focus capital allocation to mining. As a result Vale has decided to sell the ships to other, likely Chinese shipping companies and charter them back under long-term contracts.[40] On 21 December 2011 a Brazilian financial newspaper reported that Vale had sold the four Valemax vessels that had been delivered by then to an undisclosed buyer and intended to put the remaining 15 on sale before the end of the year.[41] Although Vale may suffer financial losses from selling the ships, they will be covered by the profit from iron ore sales even at current, depressed ore prices if one or two shipments can be unloaded in Chinese ports.[42]

Incidents

On 5 December 2011 it was reported that the Vale Beijing, operated by STX Pan Ocean, had suffered structural damage during her first cargo loading and was in danger of sinking at the port of Ponta da Madeira in Brazil due to sea water entering ruptured ballast tanks and cargo holds. The South Korean-built Valemax ship, partially loaded with 260,000 tons of iron ore[43], was towed away from Pier 1 by tugboats in the following day and as a precaution against environmental damage the Brazilian authorities requested her fuel tanks to be emptied.[44] Since there are no facilities to unload iron ore from the ship at Ponta da Madeira and no large shipyards in the region, emergency repairs must be performed by divers while the ship is anchored offshore before it can be towed to a shipyard.[45][46][47] The cause of the damage has not been published by STX, but design or construction flaws, material fatigue and incorrect loading have all been suspected.[44][48] As of 25 December 2011 (2011 -12-25) the Vale Beijing remains anchored off Ponta da Madeira.

If the Vale Beijing had sunk at the pier or could have not be moved to an anchorage area outside the port for repairs, the incident would have severely delayed the operations at the port which ships out about 10 percent of the world's iron ore production.[45] While the Vale Beijing delayed the loading of only 750,000 tons of iron ore[49], on 11 November 1994 Trade Daring, a 145,000 DWT ore-bulk-oil carrier, broke in two at the same location due to incorrect loading, blocking the deepwater pier of Ponta da Madeira for more than six weeks before the wreck was removed and scuttled offshore.[50]

After the incident the China Shipowners' Association (CSA) questioned the safety of the 400,000-ton ore carriers commissioned by Vale. CSA was particularly concerned about the ability of the newly built ships to withstand various sea conditions and the pollution resulting from fuel oil leaks in case of structural damage.[51] Each Valemax ship can carry around 10,000 tons of fuel oil, equivalent to the cargo capacity of small oil tankers.[52][note 1]

Design

Although similar in size, the Valemax vessels built by different shipyards in South Korea and China have some differences in main dimensions, cargo capacity, machinery and external appearance.

The Valemax ships are 360 to 362 metres (1,181 to 1,188 ft) long[2][3], making them some of the longest ships currently in service. With a maximum draught of between 22 and 23 metres (72 and 75 ft) while loaded the ships are limited only to a few deepwater ports in Brazil, Europe and China.[53][54][55] The breadth of the Valemax ships is about 65 metres (213 ft).[2][3][26] The size of the ships is limited mainly by Chinese ports and the ships of this size are generally referred to as Chinamax vessels.

The Valemax vessels have seven cargo holds with a total gross volume of almost 220,000 cubic metres (290,000 cu yd).[52] In addition to increasing the strength of the hull special attention has also been paid to improve the speed and efficiency of the loading and discharging operations. Each cargo hold can be fully loaded by a shiploader in a single step with a loading rate of 13,500 tonnes per hour and can carry almost as much iron ore as a small Panamax carrier. In addition the space inside the cargo hold that cannot be reached by grabs during discharging, the so-called "dead spots", is minimized.[3] With a deadweight tonnage of 400,000 tons, a fully laden Valemax vessel is carrying as much iron ore as around 11,150 trucks, enough to produce steel for three Golden Gate bridges.[56][34]

Like most modern bulk carriers, each Valemax vessel will be powered by a single two-stroke low-speed crosshead diesel engine directly coupled to a fixed-pitch propeller. The ships built by DSME and STX in South Korea will be powered by 7-cylinder MAN B&W 7S80ME-C8 and 7S80ME-C engines, respectively, and the ships built by Jiangsu Rongsheng and Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industries will receive Wärtsilä 7RT-flex82T and 7RT-flex84T engines, respectively. The Wärtsilä RT-flex82T engines are manufactured in China under licence.[23] Both MAN and Wärtsilä engines will have a maximum continuous rating of around 29,000 kW (39,000 hp) at 76–78 rpm, giving the ships a service speed of around 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) while burning almost 100 tons of heavy fuel oil per day.[3][57][58] However, due to the large size of the vessels the emissions per cargo ton-mile are very low, making the Valemax vessels in fact one of the most efficient long-distance dry bulk carriers in service — Vale has reported a 35 % drop in emissions per ton of cargo carried in comparison to older ships.[59]

All Valemax vessels will be classified by Det Norske Veritas.[2][3]

Size record

The new ships are considerably larger than the previous record holder, 364,767-ton Berge Stahl, which had been the largest bulk carrier in the world since she was built in 1986. While the draft of the old vessel is the same as that of the Valemax vessels — 23 metres (75 ft) — the new ships are 20 metres (66 ft) longer and 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) wider than the old freighter, and can carry about 10 % more cargo.[60][61]

The Valemax vessels are also the second largest ships in service by deadweight tonnage, second only to the TI class supertankers that have a deadweight tonnage of over 440,000 tons.[62] However, they are still far from the largest ship ever constructed — the Seawise Giant, built in 1979 and broken up in 2009, was 458.46 metres (1,504.1 ft) long and had a deadweight tonnage of 564,650 tons[63] — and also considerably shorter than the longest ships currently in service, the 397-metre (1,302 ft) MĂŚrsk E class container ships.[64]

Criticism

Vale's decision of constructing a fleet of 400,000-ton ore carriers has been widely criticized by other shipping companies. The new Valemax ships, expected to cut the company's transportation costs by 20–25 %,[65] are blamed for driving down the freight rates for the entire industry, swelling the already oversupplied bulk transportation market and stalling the recovery of the shipping business after the financial crisis. The freight rates, down 80 % from 2008, are expected to drop further down to the levels of 1977.[66] According to the chief executive of BIMCO, the Valemax vessels could displace up to 168 150,000–180,000-ton capesize bulk carriers, around 15 % of the existing fleet, from the long haul voyages and force them to less profitable shorter routes.[67][68] Vale has responded to the criticism by stating that the company aims to permanently cut the costs of Atlantic-Pacific dry bulk shipping to make Brazilian ore more competitive against iron ore produced in Australia, which is closer to major customers in Asia.[66][69]

Vale has also faced opposition from the China Shipowners' Association which claim that the Brazilian mining company is seeking to control the freight market as it has already done with the iron ore prices. In the past the Chinese ports were not allowed to increase their capacity to more than 300,000 tons for dry bulk carriers due to safety and environmental concerns, and if the 400,000-ton Valemax vessels are allowed to Chinese ports, Vale's monopoly on the route may result in losses for other shipping companies operating capesize ore carriers.[70] Also, when Vale Brasil was diverted to Italy on her maiden voyage, there was speculation that the domestic steel industry of China had urged the authorities to protect their commercial interests.[69] As of December 2011 no Valemax vessel has unloaded ore in a Chinese port, and as a precaution Vale is constructing both land- and offshore-based transshipment hubs where iron ore can be loaded to smaller ships for final delivery to Chinese ports. This backup plan has also been criticized by the vice-executive chairman of the CSA, Zhang Shouguo, who called them "waste of resource" and questioned Vale's ability to run the fleet as properly as professional shipping companies.[71][72] As a result Vale intends to sell or lease its planned fleet of Valemax bulk carriers to Chinese shipping companies with long-term charter contracts to avoid such criticism and allow the ships to enter Chinese ports.[73]

Luiz InĂĄcio Lula da Silva, the former president of Brazil, also publicly criticized Vale's former CEO Roger Agnelli for the decision of ordering ships from Asian shipyards instead of building them in Brazil, where Lula da Silva has been trying to revitalize the shipbuilding industry to create more jobs and increase local demand for steel and other products. Agnelli, who later left his position following continued criticism, replied that the Brazilian shipyards did not have the capacity to build such ships and stated that during the past few years Vale had commissioned 51 vessels from Brazilian shipyards.[74]

List of Valemax vessels

Ship name Shipping company Year Yard number IMO number Status Notes
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering
Vale Brasil Vale Shipping 2011 1201 9488918 In service [18]
Vale Rio de Janeiro Vale Shipping 2011 1202 9572329 In service [21]
Vale Italia Vale Shipping 2011 1203 9572331 In service [22]
STX Offshore & Shipbuilding
Vale Beijing STX Pan Ocean 2011 1701 9575448 In service [26]
Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries
Vale China Vale Shipping 2011 1105 9522972 In service [6]
Vale Dongjiakou Vale Shipping 2012 1106 9532513 Launched [75]
Vale Dalian Vale Shipping 2012 1107 9532525 Launched [11]
1108 9532537 [76]
1109 9532549 [76]
1110 9532551 [76]
1111 9532575 [76]
1112 9532587 [76]
1113 9532599 [76]
1114 9532604 [76]
1115 9532616 [76]
1116 9532628 [76]
Jazer Oman Shipping Company 2012 [33]
Yanqul Oman Shipping Company 2012 [33]
Al Kamil Oman Shipping Company 2012 [33]
Wafi Oman Shipping Company 2012 [33]
Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry
Berge Everest Berge Bulk 2011 BH416-1 9447536 In service [28]
Berge Aconcagua Berge Bulk 2012 BH416-2 [77]
Berge Jaya Berge Bulk 2012 BH416-3 [77]
Berge Neblina Berge Bulk 2012 BH416-4 [77]

Notes

  1. ^ The heavy fuel oil, marine diesel oil and marine gasoil tanks of the Vale Brasil have a combined volume of 11,706 m3 [1], equivalent to roughly 10,000 tons of fuel with a density of around 850 kg/m3. This is roughly the same as the deadweight tonnage of small tankers, such as the 120-metre (390 ft) Stena Caribbean [2].

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