Valemax
Vale Rio de Janeiro arriving in Rotterdam in January 2012. Note fully laden hull, compared with photograph below.
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: |
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| Operators: | |
| Built: | 2011– |
| In service: | 2011– |
| Planned: | 65 |
| Completed: | 35 (list of ships) |
| General characteristics (first series) | |
| Type: | Bulk carrier |
| 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) |
| Installed power: | Low speed diesel engine (approx. 29,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: | Single shaft; fixed-pitch propeller |
| Speed: | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Valemax ships are a fleet of very large ore carriers (VLOC) owned or chartered by the Brazilian mining company Vale S.A. to carry iron ore from Brazil to European and Asian ports. With a capacity ranging from 380,000 to 400,000 tons deadweight, the vessels meet the Chinamax standard of ship measurements for limits on draft and beam. Valemax ships are the largest bulk carriers ever constructed, when measuring deadweight tonnage or length overall, and are amongst the longest ships of any type currently in service.
The first Valemax vessel, Vale Brasil, was delivered in 2011. Initially, all 35 ships were expected to be in service by 2013, but the last ship was not delivered until September 2016. In late 2015 and early 2016, Chinese shipping companies ordered 30 more ships with deliveries starting in 2017. This brings the total number of Valemax vessels in service, under construction or ordered to 65.
In 2008, Vale placed orders for twelve 400,000-ton Valemax ships to be constructed by Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries (RSHI) 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 were ordered from Chinese and South Korean shipyards for other shipping companies, and chartered to Vale under long-term contracts. The first vessel was delivered in 2011 and the last in 2016.
The first Valemax vessels were ordered on 3 August 2008 when Vale signed a contract with the Chinese shipbuilder Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries (RSHI) for the construction of twelve 400,000-ton ore carriers. The development had reportedly started in 2007. The contract, worth $1.6 billion, was the world's biggest single shipbuilding contract by deadweight tonnage.
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Wikipedia