Brazil miner and iron ore producer Vale has signed an agreement with Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC) to provide the Asian company Vale’s large iron ore carriers, the Valemaxes.
According to a media report, NSSMC will use Vale’s Valemaxes to import iron ore from Brazil to Oita, Kyushu Island, in Japan. The city is the only Japanese location to have a terminal capable of receiving the carriers.
The deal is reportedly to have a CIF contract. A media report said the CIF deal is a sign that NSSMC wants to use Vale’s large iron ore carriers as part of an imports strategy.
“On previous trips to Japan, Valemaxes have first discharged in Oita then traded on part loaded to NSSMC’s other terminals at Kimitsu and Kashima,” a media report noted.
Recently, Vale signed an agreement to sell four of these very large ore carriers (VLOCs) it owns to China Merchants Energy Shipping Co (CMES), following a $50 billion loan Brazil received from China.