Brazilian miner Vale (NYSE: VALE) has signed a 25-year charter deal with China’s Shandong Shipping Corporation, which will build the world’s first two transoceanic ethanol-powered vessels under the agreement, a Vale executive told Reuters on Wednesday.
The two Guaibamax-class vessels, each with a capacity to transport up to 325,000 metric tons of iron ore, are scheduled to be delivered from 2029 onwards.
They will be equipped with rotor sails to harness wind energy and more efficient engines, among other energy-efficiency improvements, Rodrigo Bermelho, Vale’s navigation director, said in an interview.
“We see decarbonization as an irreversible trend,” he said. “It is at the core of Vale’s strategy, not only in maritime transport but across all the products we have been developing for the steel industry.”
Vale is one of the world’s largest iron ore producers.
(Reporting by Marta Nogueira; Writing by Fernando Cardoso; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)