Brazilian mining giant Vale said on Tuesday it rerouted 391,000 tonnes of iron ore, its first cargo aboard a new class of giant bulk carriers, to Italy from its original destination of China.

The cargo is being shipped aboard the Singapore-flagged Vale Brasil, the world's largest dry-bulk vessel, a ship designed to reduce the cost of shipping the main steel ingredient to China -- the company's biggest market.

"The alteration (of the destination) is part of the flexibility in Vale's integrated logistics policy that allows Vale to reallocate the destination of exports, based on the needs of the market," the company said in an emailed statement. Earlier this year Vale said it had not received permission for its so-called "Chinamax" or "Valemax" vessels to enter Chinese ports fully loaded.