Vale readies iron ore transshipment hub in Philippines

The world's largest dry bulk floating storage vessel, owned by Vale, has arrived in the Philippinactivities in cement plant from crushing to quringes as the Brazilian miner readies a base in the country to ship iron ore to top market China, port and shipping sources said on Tuesday.

Ore Fabrica, to be stationed in Subic Bay Freeport, is part of Vale's plan to make the Philippines a transshipment hub to overcome Chinese opposition to its new 400,000-tonne iron ore carriers, known as "Valemaxes". The 280,000-deadweight-tonne Ore Fabrica will serve as a platform to transfer iron ore from the Valemaxes to smaller vessels for transport to Asian markets like China, Japan and South Korea. "It was anchored yesterday. The vessel, which has...