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China may allow bigger ships at some of its ports

Time:[9/1/2013]   Hits:7890
Business Times reported that China is studying a plan to allow some of its ports to receive larger vessels, a move that may pave the way for Brazil's Vale SA to start delivering iron ore via its growing fleet of giant carriers.

Chinese ship owners have strongly opposed access for Vale's mega ships amid concerns they could worsen a shipping glut and steal market share, but their use would cut shipping costs of the raw material for China's steel mills.

For Vale, approval for its Valemax vessels to enter Chinese ports would help the miner cut transport costs by up to a third and allow it to better compete with Australian rivals Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton whose mines are closer to China.

China's Ministry of Transport barred the mega ships from the country's ports in early 2012, citing safety concerns after the first 400,000 deadweight tonne Valemax docked at Dalian Port in December 2011.