Vale says it expects to get a combined US$448m for the sale of four of its 400,000dwt Valemax very large ore carriers (VLOCs) to China's state-owned China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES).

This May, CMES and Vale signed an expanded framework agreement for the sale, which was an amended version of an agreement the two signed on Sept. 26, 2014.

China's COSCO also bought four VLOCs from Vale last year, for which it paid the Brazilian mining company US$445m. The vessels were delivered in June.