China: Rongsheng Heavy Christens World’s Largest Dry Bulk Carriers

China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Limited, a large heavy industries group in China, today christened the first two 380,000 DWT class Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC) built for Oman Shipping Company S.A.O.C. (Oman Shipping).

The vessels, which will be deployed on the iron ore trade route between Brazil and Oman, will set for sea trial and enter into the final delivery stage soon. In addition, the Group has just delivered the third 380,000 DWT class VLOC to Vale S.A. (Vale) on 20 May. With the ongoing advances in construction experience and technologies, plus the improvement of production efficiency, the construction and delivery plan of VLOCs is further enhanced.

Mr. Chen Qiang, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of China Rongsheng Heavy Industries, said, “Oman Shipping and Vale are the important strategic partners of China Rongsheng Heavy Industries. The christening of the two vessels has reiterated the close partnership between the three parties. The advances in construction experience, technologies and production efficiency have also further enhanced the construction and delivery plan of VLOCs.”

The two VLOCs were christened as “VALE SOHAR” and “VALE LIWA,” in the names of two places in Oman. Sohar is the largest port in Oman, and which consists of a newly-completed berth to accommodate 380,000 DWT class VLOCs. The Group entered into an agreement to build four 380,000 DWT class VLOCs, with a contract value of USD 480 million, with Oman Shipping in 2009. The contract was the biggest shipbuilding contract in the world for the year in terms of tonnage. The four VLOCs have been chartered to Vale, to support the operation of Vale’s ore distribution center in Oman, and carry cargo along the iron ore trade route between Brazil and Oman.

In addition, China Rongsheng Heavy Industries have just delivered “VALE DALIAN”, which is the third VLOC delivered by the Group, to Vale on 20 May. The vessel is also the second VLOC, after delivering “VALE DONGJIAKOU” on 9 April, taken by the Brazilian mining giant this year. Through the experience accumulation from those delivered vessels, the Group has achieved significant improvement in construction cycle of VLOCs. Construction period of some of the critical process has been substantially reduced. A noteworthy example is that the installation period of the main engine after launching has been shortened to 20 working days.

The 380,000 DWT class VLOC built by China Rongsheng Heavy Industries is the largest dry bulk carrier in the world. The vessel measures 360 meters in length, 65 meters in breadth and 30.4 meters in depth. The VLOC adopts an environmentally friendly design to lower oil consumption and reduce emission of SOx and NOx, while the operating efficiency is also better than most of ore carriers currently in operation.