Global miner BHP has signed an agreement with Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping to ship its iron ore to China for five years, beginning in 2022.
Under the agreement, BHP will charter Eastern Pacific’s five Newcastlemax bulk carriers, which can carry up to 185,000dwt of iron ore each, from BHP’s mine operations in Australia to the East Asian country.
These carriers are powered by liquid petroleum gas (LPG), which is expected to drop the miner’s shipping emissions by 30pc as compared to coal-fueled carriers, BHP’s chief commercial officer, Vandita Pant said in a recent media statement.
The deal comes a month after Vale announced that its first 500,000dwt Valemax bulk container had shipped iron ore to China, in light of increasing demand driven by construction projects and infrastructural developments in the Asian country.