Brazil's state-owned mining giant Vale has inked an agreement to sell 10 VLOC for $600m to Polaris Shipping.
The vessels sold will be chartered back by Vale from Polaris Shipping under long term charter contracts.
“In addition to unlocking capital, the transaction preserves Vale's capacity of maritime transportation of iron ore, since the vessels will be available but without the ownership and operational risks,” Vale said.
The 300,000-dwt vessels were acquired in 2009/10 and converted from oil tankers into iron ore carriers.
The mega size VLOCs have met strong resistance from Chinese shipowners who are against those vessels from entering Chinese ports. Chinese shipowners claimed that Vale is trying to monopolise the iron ore transportation market and influence freight rates through the use of VLOCs.