Valemax

Valemax is the class of 400,000 dwt very large ore carriers built for Vale, the Brazilian mining company, to carry iron ore from Brazil to Asia. Each ship is about 362 meters long, 65 meters in beam, and 23 meters in draft, the Chinamax dimensions. Vale ordered the first batch from Jiangsu Rongsheng in China in 2008 and a second from Daewoo Shipbuilding in South Korea in 2009; the lead ship, Vale Brasil, delivered from Daewoo in April 2011. China initially refused the ships entry over competition and safety concerns, forcing transshipment through ports such as Sohar in Oman until the ban eased. The deep draft limits them to dredged deep-water ore terminals.