EMO (HES Beheer economic interest 36.6%) today welcomed the “Vale Italia”, a “Very Large Ore Carrier” on her terminal, at Rotterdam’s Maasvlakte.

This magnificent new vessel carries 380,000 tonnes of iron ore for the German steel industry. EMO will unload the “Vale Italia” in approximately 4 days using two 85-tonne grab unloaders.

At 362 metres long and 65 metres at the beam and with a draft of 23 metres, the “Vale Italia“ is one of the largest dry bulk vessels in the world. Thanks to its huge unloading capacity and quayside with a maximum draft of 23 metres, the EMO terminal is the ideal unloading destination for the “Vale Italia”.

In the second half year, unloading capacity will be strengthened further by the commissioning of a new 85-tonne gantry crane, leading to further improvement in efficiency and service levels.

EMO, the largest independent terminal for the transhipment and storage of coal and iron ore in Europe, will then have three 85-tonne and two 50-tonne gantry cranes and a 36-tonne floating crane.

The decision was also recently taken to renovate one of the existing 85-tonne grab unloaders, extending the useful life of this crane by a further 15 to 20 years.