MS Ore Brasil

MS ''Ore Brasil'', previously known as ''Vale Brasil'', is a very large ore carrier owned by the Brazilian mining company Vale. She is the first of seven 400,000-ton very large ore carriers (VLOC) ordered by Vale from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea and twelve from Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries in China, which are designed to carry iron ore from Brazil to Asia along the Cape route around South Africa.Brazilian mining group’s giant ore carrier soon to enter service
Mining Weekly, 13 May 2011. While close to the specifications of Chinamax, these ships are generally referred to as ''Valemax'' vessels by Vale.Spinetto, J. B
Vale to Receive Up to Four More Valemax By Year-End
Bloomberg, 4 August 2011. They are the largest bulk carriers ever built.DSME delivering Vale Brasil, the world's largest ore carrier
. Det Norske Veritas, 2011-06-01.

Design

The overall length of ''Ore Brasil'' is , making her one of the longest ships currently in service. The breadth and depth of her hull are and , respectively, giving her a gross tonnage of 198,980.

''Ore Brasil'' has seven cargo holds with a combined gross volume of 219,980 cubic metres and net tonnage of 67,993. Her deadweight tonnage is 402,347 tons. When carrying a full load of iron ore, equal to around 11,150 trucks,Interactive presentation
. Vale S.A. her draught is . Like other very large ore carriers of her size, ''Ore Brasil'' is limited to only a few deepwater ports in Brazil, Europe and China.

''Ore Brasil'' is propelled by a single MAN B&W 7S80ME-C8 two-stroke low-speed diesel engine directly coupled to a fixed-pitch propeller. The main engine, which has a maximum output of at 78 rpm, burns 96.7 tons of heavy fuel oil per day.Vale - A Global Strategic Partner
Vale S.A. However, due to the large size of the vessel the emissions per cargo ton-mile are very low, making ''Ore Brasil'' in fact one of the most efficient long-distance dry bulk carriers in service, and for this reason the ship received the Clean Ship award of 2011 in the Norwegian shipping exhibition Nor-Shipping. Vale has reported 35 % drop in emissions per ton of cargo in comparison to older ships. Her service speed is .

''Ore Brasil'' is classified by Det Norske Veritas with a class notation of ''1A1 Ore Carrier ESP ES(O) E0 NAUT-OC BWM-E(s) IB-3 COAT-PSPC(B) CSA-2 BIS EL-2 TMON NAUTICUS(Newbuilding)''.

Size record

''Ore Brasil'' is considerably larger than the previous record-holder, ''Berge Stahl'', in every respect. Both her gross tonnage and deadweight tonnage are larger than those of the Norwegian ship, 175,720 and 364,767 tons, respectively. While the draught of both ships is the same, ''Ore Brasil'' is also longer and wider than ''Berge Stahl''. In addition, ''Ore Brasil'' is larger and slightly longer than the four new 388,000-ton, Chinamax bulk carriers Berge Bulk has ordered from China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. Had ''Ore Brasil'' not been built, these ships would have become the largest bulk carriers in the world.

She is also the second largest ship currently in service by deadweight tonnage, second only to the TI class supertankers that have a deadweight tonnage of over 440,000 tons.

Career

On 24 May 2011 ''Vale Brasil'' received her first cargo at the Brazilian port Terminal Marítimo de Ponta da Madeira — 391,000 tons of iron ore, enough to produce steel for more than three Golden Gate bridges, bound for Dalian in China.Vale Brasil Sails For The Port Of Dalian In China
The TEX Report, 31 May 2011. However, in June, after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, the ship was rerouted to Taranto, Italy, and turned back towards the Atlantic Ocean.Vale reroutes China-bound iron cargo to Italy
Reuters, 21 June 2011. There had been speculation that ''Vale Brasil'' was not allowed to enter the Chinese port fully laden, but according to Vale the destination was changed due to commercial, not political reasons.
Lee Universal Enterprises, 22 June 2011. The ship arrived at the port of Taranto on 14 July 2011.
Steelguru, 22 July 2011.

The ship was renamed ''Ore Brasil'' in 2014.

400,000 ton controversy

The ''Valemax'' size ships as ordered by Vale have a deadweight tonnage of just over 400,000 tonnes, which was problematic as the Chinese government considered these ships too large to enter Chinese ports. As a result, the ships were "slimmed down" to 380,000 tonnes deadweight. The controversy arose as this change was only on paper and nothing was actually changed in the ship design. This alluded that ''Valemax'' ships bound to Chinese ports are simply not being loaded to maximum capacity - and with no change in their physical dimensions.Valemax VLOC ore carriers
Antipodean Mariner, 28 November 2011. Thus these same vessels "regained" their ability to re-enter the same ports they were previously declared too large to enter. Subsequently the Chinese government banned all ships over 300,000 DWT, effectively banning the ''Valemax'' ships from entering Chinese ports.

See also

* List of world's longest ships

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ore Brasil
Ships built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering
2010 ships
Very large ore carriers