Vale announced Monday that the Port of Kimitsu, in Japan, received a Valemax vessel for the first time on January 19. The Vale Brasil, which has a capacity to transport up to 400,000 metric tons of ore and is capable of reducing carbon emissions by 35 percent per ton of ore transported, arrived at Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal's (NSSMC) Kimitsu works near Tokyo. The Valemax vessel first berthed at the port of Oita where about 200,000 metric tons were unloaded. The vessel then sailed to Kimitsu to deliver the rest of its cargo.
NSSMC received its first Valemax delivery at Oita last June. Until now, the Valemax vessels have called at the ports of Villanueva (Philippines), Tubarão and Ponta da Madeira (Brazil), Taranto (Italy), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Sohar (Oman) and Oita (Japan) as well as Vale's floating transfer station in Subic Bay, in the Philippines. By the end of 2013, there will be a total of 35 similar vessels available to transport Vale's iron ore --19 owned by Vale and 16 chartered from international ship owners.