Eitzen Bulk Shipping to carry 50 million mt of slabs from Brazil to Europe & US

On April 28, Denmark-based international dry bulk operator Eitzen Bulk Shipping announced that it has reached an agreement with ThyssenKrupp Slab International B.V., a joint venture between German steel giant ThyssenKrupp and Brazilian miner Vale, for the transportation of about 50 million metric tons of steel slabs from Brazil to the US and Europe, over a period of 11 years.
 
According to the company's statement, the contract will commence in the fourth quarter of 2010 and expire in the third quarter of 2021. The steels slabs will be transported by a combination of Panamax and Supramax carriers. The commitment is equivalent to approximately 30,000 vessel days corresponding to about 7.5 Panamax/Supramax vessels annually. Due to the limited number of cargoes in 2010, the contract will not impact earnings expectations for 2010.
 
The total contract revenue is expected to be approximately DKK 4 billion ($727 million).