Asia/Pacific News
Chinese Design Promises Fuel-Saving VLOCs
Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) has created a new design for very large ore carriers (VLOCs) that it says can reduce fuel consumption by almost 18 percent compared with existing versions, Chinese shipping news site SinoShip News reports.
The 405,000 deadweight tonne ship would also drop carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by about 20 percent.
"The new 405,000 dwt VLOC is a very competitive ship type, it could be the best ore carrier for China-Brazil routes," said Li Lu, project manager of SDARI.
SinoShip News writes that the size of the proposed ships suggests that China is likely to compromise on a policy that sets a maximum size of 250,000 dwt for VLOCs.
Brazilian mining giant Vale SA [NYSE:VALE] (Vale) has been seeking access to Chinese ports for its 400,000 dwt VLOCs.
