The project has been awarded to Chengxi Shipyard, part of China State Shipbuilding Corp, which also carried out the first conversion for the Brazilian mining giant.

The Chinese yard beat off competition from three domestic competitors and a yard in South Korea for the $10m contract.

Vale's 260,630-dwt Ore Sessogo (built 1991) is due to arrive at the yard in early November and leave by March 2013.

Chengxi says work will involve the installation of five new cranes as well as five cargo hoppers, five conveyor belts and two sets of ship unloaders.

Vale deployed its first transshipment vessel, the 284,480-dwt Ore Fabrica (built 1993) at Subic Bay in the Philippines in February.

The vessel is used to transfer iron ore cargoes from its Valemaxes to capesize or panamax vessels for onward shipment to other Asian ports.

Last week the 400,000-dwt Vale Minas Gerais (built 2011) made the maiden call for a Valemax bulker ship at the Philippines port of Villanueva.

The Mindanao Island port is the second facility in the Philippines to handle the Vale VLOCs after Subic Bay.

The ship, which docked on 17 October, was loaded in the Ponta da Madeira Maritime Terminal, Brazil, at the end of August.

The cargo is destined for Japan’s JFE Steel, which received the vessel at its Philippines Sinter Corp in Mindanao. JFE is one of Vale’s largest clients.

“With the startup of our second floating transfer station expected for the first quarter of 2013, the distribution center in Malaysia and our entire fleet of Valemax vessels in place, Vale will be fully prepared to serve the Asian markets on equal terms with its competitors in the region,” said Vale’s executive director for Ferrous and Strategy, Jose Carlos Martins.

“This whole logistics solution, encompassing vessels, floating transfer stations and distribution centers, is expected to be in place in early 2014,” he added.

With the Villanueva port, seven ports have now received the Valemax vessels: Tubarao and Ponta da Madeira (Brazil), Taranto (Italy), Rotterdam, Sohar (Oman) and Oita (Japan) as well as Subic Bay.