Shanghai: Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) has unveiled a new design for very large ore carriers (VLOCs) with better fuel efficiency and fewer emission.
The new 405,000dwt VLOC is designed to reduce fuel consumption from around 97 tonnes to 80 compared with the old 400,000dwt version, and its CO2 emission will decrease by around 20%, according to SDARI.
“The new 405,000dwt 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.
The fact that SDARI with strong state links has initiated a VLOC design in excess of Beijing’s recent 250,000 dwt maximum ruling suggests that some form of compromise is likely with Brazilian miner over its long term ban from Chinese ports for its set of 400,000 dwt bulkers. [14/03/14]
