Dear Readers

I am at Aughinish Alumina close to Limerick in Ireland on a bright and sunny late autumn morning in November. Out at the pier, a bulk carrier flying the Egyptian flag is discharging bauxite. The vessel, built in Japan in 1997, just came in from Guinea a few hours earlier with a shipload of bauxite. The vessel will remain at Aughinish for two days before heading back to Kamsar for a new load. In many ways, this is the centre of our story on bauxite, alumina and aluminium. In simple terms, you need four tonnes of bauxite to produce two tonnes of a fluffy, white powder called alumina to produce one tonne of aluminium. At Aughinish on the south west coast of Ireland they receive bauxite and ship alumina back out. Sounds simple? Not really – there is nothing about aluminium production that is really simple.
At DNV we are primarily focused on the shipping aspects of the aluminium production value chain, and many international shipowners are our customers. Actually, the global seaborne bauxite and alumina trade equals a grand total of some 70 million tonnes a year (2003 figures, Hammer Maritime Strategies). In addition, some 10–15 million tonnes of aluminium are transported every year by sea before being shipped to the end user as aluminium foil, cans and structures of various kinds, such as high speed light craft and jumbo jets, to name a few.
Our story this time starts in Kamsar in the African country of Guinea. This is where you find the largest deposit of bauxite. The mine is located inland and is a day mine as the bauxite is found right under the topsoil down to some four to six metres. The other main bauxite production centre in the world is Trombetas up the Amazon river in Brazil. The best quality bauxite is found at distances of 100–200 km from the equator. We have also been in Oslo, a main centre for the bulk transport of bauxite in a global context. Our story then took us to Canada and Alcan, which is one of the world’s largest producers of alumina and aluminium. As previously mentioned, we also travelled to Aughinish in Ireland, then to Bergen in Norway where you find a bulk carrier owner that specialises in transporting raw materials for electrodes and finished aluminium. Finally, we went to an end user of aluminium located in one of the world’s most beautiful fjords. We also visited a shipowner with a fleet of so called Kamsar max vessels designed for the bauxite trade from Kamsar – without presently actually being involved in transporting bauxite.
According to Hammer Maritime Strategies and Fearnleys, in 2005 Australia exported approximately five million tonnes of bauxite, the Americas some 12 million tonnes, Africa 16 million tonnes and other areas approximately seven million tonnes, equalling a total of 40 million tonnes. The corresponding alumina figures were some 12 million, eight million, less than one million and seven million respectively.
The products are mostly shipped on Handysize and Panamax bulk carriers, the true workhorses of the sea. I trust you will find this story of interest, and I would especially like to thank all those who have opened up their doors for us, helped us to get appointments and set aside their valuable time to make this issue of Bulk Carrier Update an interesting one.
Sincerely yours,

Ulf Freudendahl
DNV Business Director, Bulk Carrier

Date: 05 February 2008