Yingkou Ship Repair Recently, China COSCO (601919.SH) and Vale signed a cooperation agreement. Industry analysts pointed out that this cooperation officially announced that Vale has launched a China cooperation strategy, and Vale’s large ships are one step closer to berthing at Chinese ports.

Vale and COSCO have played for a long time, and the initial cooperation has finally been reached.

As an iron ore producer, Vale has proposed to build a fleet of 35 400,000-ton bulk carriers seven years ago in order to control the iron ore transportation market from Brazil to China.

COSCO Group and other companies are opposed to Vale's launch of these giant ships on China-Brazil routes. Valemax ships cannot enter Chinese ports, and Vale also refuses to use COSCO’s fleet.

Although there were some negotiations between China and Vale, but none of them had any substantive results. Zheng Ping, a senior analyst at China-Hong Kong.com, told the Great Wisdom News Agency that if Vale’s super fleet is anchored to China, the interests of domestic shipping companies will be hit hard. Moreover, not only is China's tough attitude, but also the attitude of Vale's miners, who are "rich and powerful," have not compromised.

"From their point of view, large-scale ships and deep-water ports are the development trend. In a few years, the berthing of large ships may become a fait accompli. Therefore, the current call to Southeast Asia and redistribution is only a stopgap measure." Zheng Ping said.

Despite China’s opposition to the berthing of Vale’s big ships, Vale still “takes risks” twice. In 2011, Vale’s big ships berthed at Dalian Port (601880.SH), and in 2013, Vale’s big ships berthed at Lianyungang (601008.SH), but two Both berthings were strongly opposed by the China Shipowners Association.

Vale cooperates with COSCO, and large ships berth at Chinese ports are expected to increase

According to a recent announcement by China COSCO, Vale will provide COSCO Bulk Cargo Company with a 25-year ore transportation contract, and COSCO Bulk Cargo Company will accordingly order 10 large ore ships for Vale and acquire 4 large ore ships owned by Vale .

Some analysts pointed out that the cooperation between COSCO and Vale officially announced that Vale has launched a China cooperation strategy.

In fact, before the cooperation with COSCO, Vale also had cooperation with China, the more obvious is the cooperation with Lianyungang Port.

On April 15, 2013, the Vale Malaysia "Vale Malaysia" berthed at Lianyungang Port; in June 2013, Lianyungang Group and Brazil’s Vale signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement; on October 21, 2013, Rongsheng Heavy Industries was appointed as Freshwater The 400,000-ton ultra-large ore carrier (VLOC) built by River Valley was named "Lianyungang"; in July this year, during Xi Jinping's visit to Brazil, Lianyungang Port Group and Tubarao Port signed a strategic cooperation agreement.

In recent years, the shipping industry has been sluggish. Although there has been a slight recovery this year, the pace is still slow. Correspondingly, most people in the port and shipping industry believe that in the future, alliances of shipping companies, larger ships, and deep-water ports will be the general trend.

In terms of shipping capacity, among the top 20 shipping companies in the world, with the recent announcement of the establishment of O3 by CMA CGM, plus Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping, which are applying for 2M, 17 of the 20 shipping companies have achieved "alliance."

Along with the alliance of shipping, there is another characteristic of the large-scale ships. In order to meet the demand for large-scale ships, deep-water ports are also the general trend. Therefore, industry insiders pointed out that it is only a matter of time before Vale ships call at Chinese ports.

China's five major ports can call Vale ships

In January 2012, the Ministry of Transport issued a "Notice No. 13" (ie the "Notice on Adjusting the Management of Berths of Ships Exceeding Design Specifications"). The "Notice" pointed out that the current construction standards for bulk carrier berths are 35 10,000 tons ship.

This regulation put an end to the possibility of Vale’s large ships calling at Chinese ports, and it has not been loosened up to now.

Even so, there are still ports in China that can dock 400,000-ton ships. Some people in the port industry told the Great Wisdom News Agency that the industry may have foreseen the general trend of port deep-waterization. Therefore, there are several ports that can accommodate 400,000-ton ships.

A port expert said that most of the domestic ports currently have a capacity of 300,000 tons, and no port can truly reach the 400,000-ton class, but some ports have the capacity to “rely on the 400,000-ton class”. These ports are: Dalian Port, Qingdao Port (06198.HK) Dongjiakou Port Area, Rizhao Port (600017.SH), Lianyungang Port, and Ningbo Port (601018.SH).

Among them, in Rizhao Port, Rizhao Port Area can only accept large ships that have been properly unloaded. However, people in Rizhao Port said that Lanshan Port Area will consider adapting to the needs of large ships in the future; Ningbo Port said that Ningbo Port has built ore terminals that cannot be used. Wan Ship, the joint venture terminal under construction with Zhoushan Port-Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Qushan Port Area Shulanghu Ore Transfer Wharf can be called.