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Valemax Vale Indonesia hits sandbar in Brazil port

Valemax Vale Indonesia hits sandbar in Brazil port
The valemax Vale Indonesia owned by STX Pan Ocean touched bottom in the Brazilian Port of Maranhão on Monday damaging a ballast tank.

According to a notice from the Port Authority of Maranhão the 404,398 dwt VLOC touched bottom as it was maneuvering out of the access channel to the Bay of San Marcos.

The vessel loaded with 390,000 tonnes of iron ore and bound for Subic Bay, in the Philippines, suffered damage to the No.3 ballast tank after hitting a sandbar according to reports.

The port authority said there were no injuries or pollution as a result of the incident. The vessel was moved to an anchorage and surveys are being carried out by its classification society and insurers to determine if there was any structural damage.

The Vale Indonesia is a sistership of the Vale Beijing, which suffered hull cracks after loading at the Port of Madeira in Brazil in December 2011 on her maiden voyage.

The giant ore carriers were built for Brazilian miner Vale to transport iron ore to China. However, the Chinese authorities banned the 400,000 dwt valemaxes over safety concerns that the vessels were too large for the countries ports. As a result Vale has been forced to tranship iron ore from valemaxes in Subic Bay and Malaysia.