China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Limited has christened the first two 380,000 DWT Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC) built for Oman Shipping Company. These vessels are the largest dry bulk carriers in the world.
The vessels measure 360 meters in length, 65 meters in breadth and 30.4 meters in depth. Soon, the Vale Sohar en Vale Liwa, as the vessels were named, will set for sea trial and enter into the final delivery stage. The company also delivered a third VLOC, the Vale Dalian, to Vale S.A. on 20 May.
Shipbuilding Contract
After signing shipbuilding contracts for twelve 380,000 DWT class VLOCs with Vale in 2008, the company signed to build another four of these vessels, with a contract value of USD 480 million, for Oman Shipping in 2009. The contract with Oman Shipping was regarded as the shipbuilding contract in the world in terms of tonnage. The four VLOCs are decided to charter to Vale, in supporting the operation of Vale’s ore distribution center in Oman.
The VLOC adopts an environmentally friendly design to lower oil consumption and reduce emission of SOx and NOx, while the operating efficiency is said to be better than most of the existing ore carriers.
