On June 20, a Vale iron ore vessel destined for the Port of Dalian, China was diverted to Italy because of draft restrictions at the Chinese port, and an Italian customer required the key steelmaking ingredient.
However, when needed, Vale executives said Wednesday that the vessel will go to China, as China is Vale's largest customer. Vale is currently building 19 of the 362-meter vessels, an investment costing the company $2.3 billion. But once the freight carriers are completed, it will help to stabilize freight costs and continually rising iron ore prices.