Vale Beijing News

Fairmount Marine’s tug Fairmount Alpine has towed the rig Ocean Whittington from offshore Belem, Brazil, to offshore Galveston, US. For this job Fairmount Marine was contracted by the rigs owner, Diamond Offshore Drilling, for which Fairmount has performed a series of towages in recent years. Ocean Whittington is a semi submersible drilling rig for deep water operations. The rig has worked offshore the northern Brazilian coast since 2009. To tow the rig to the Gulf Fairmount Marine mobilized tug Fairmount Alpine…

Reuters is reporting that the damaged Vale Beijing, the world's largest iron-ore carrier, was moved from its berth in Brazil for repairs. Tugs reportedly moved the ship from the dock in the port in Sao Luis in northeastern Brazil and will tow it to a location outside the shipping channel, a harbor pilot official told Reuters. The port in northeastern Brazil is operated by Vale. The 384,300 tons of ore loaded aboard the Vale Beijing, was mined by Vale at its giant Carajas complex in the Amazon region. The ship reportedly has a crack in its ballast tanks, though the source of the crack -- operational or structural -- is not yet known. (Source: Reuters)