Focus on iron ore trade.
and I can promise you an interesting story.
The global seaborne iron ore trade rose to 580 million tons in 2004 out
of global production of more than 1,100 million tons. China passed Japan as the number one importer of iron ore, with import demand up some 33 per cent from 2003 to 2004. China, Japan and Korea together account for 60 per cent of all the iron ore imported. Bulk carrier trade in iron ore has never been as busy, and there is no indication that this will dramatically change over the next few years. Brazil is the largest producer at 245 million tons, followed by Australia.
At the other end of the iron ore production chain is steel, and global steel production rose by 8.8 per cent from 2003 to 2004. The largest producer is China, with a volume of 272 million tons, with Japan coming second with 112 million tons, and USA third with 98 million. The total world steel production in 2004 amounted to 1,056.7 million tons – China alone produced about one quarter of this.
This immense production puts a strain on the transport chain’s handling of the huge volumes. We have discussed with shipowners and yards as well as discharging terminals about cargo hold design to make the discharge process as smooth as possible. Some vessels have cargo holds where there is a lot of cargo remaining after the unloading is done. Huge wheel loaders have to be lowered into the hold to dig out the rest, or sometimes even personnel have to go in with hatchets and shovels – which is time consuming and expensive. Terminals are considering charging ships extra if they remain in port longer than normally needed. The discharge-friendly design of cargo holds will increasingly come into focus. We visited two terminals within the Port
of Rotterdam to discuss the unloading of large bulk and ore carriers. We also paid a visit onboard the modern and well designed ore carrier M/S Berge Nord.
Our story starts in Lappland in Northern Sweden at LKAB’s iron ore mine in Kiruna, some 1,170 metres below the top of the mine which is carved out of solid rock. The iron ore from Kiruna has a high ore content of close to 70 per cent. The history of the mine dates back to 1696 and the reserves will keep the mine going for decades to come. However, the city of Kiruna, which has a population of some 20,000, will eventually have to be relocated as the mine is moving in its direction!
Ulf Freudendahl
DNV Business Director, Bulk Carriers
Date: 08 February 2008