NYK Secures Long-Term Charter Contract with the Beitai Iron & Steel Group
August 29, 2006
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK; Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Koji Miyahara) has secured a 25-year charter contract with the Beitai Iron & Steel Group Co. Ltd. (Head office: Benix, Liaoning province, China) for the transportation of iron ore from Brazil. On August 30, a signing ceremony was held in Dalian and attended by Mr. Xian Liangzhong, vice mayor of Dalian; Mr. Lu Lin, warden of Dalian's Shahekou District; Mr. Yuan Fuxiu, chairman of the Dalian Port Bureau Group; Mr. Yang Xinhua, chairman and president of Beitai Iron & Steel; Mr. Hiromitsu Kuramoto, senior managing director of NYK; and Mr. Hidenori Hono, managing corporate officer of NYK.
For the first five years of the contract, from September 2006 to August 2011, NYK will transport a total of 700,000 tons of iron ore from Brazil to China over four trips each year using the company's own bulk carriers. From the latter half of 2011, NYK will introduce a 300,000-ton iron-ore carrier to transport approximately 1,200,000 tons of iron ore yearly for 20 years.
NYK Bulkship (China) Ltd. was established in 2003 and has since concluded five long-term charter contracts, each with a term of more than ten years, with three of China's major steel producers-the Baoshan Group, the Jiangsu Shangang Group, and the Beitai Iron & Steel Group.
The Beitai Iron & Steel Group was established in 1971 and produced 4,550,000 tons of crude steel in fiscal 2005, ranking 19th among steel producers in China. In fiscal 2003, the company ranked 26th out of the top 200 companies in China, ranking fifth among steel producers.
In addition to this charter contract, a long-term development strategic agreement was established between the Beitai Iron & Steel Group and the Dalian Port Bureau Group. NYK and Dalian Port Bureau Group have had a solid working relationship for years, and this new partnership agreement will allow all three organizations to strengthen their ties even further.
Outline of charter contract:| Term of the contract | 25 years |
| Commencement | September 2006 |
| Carrier used: | 1) 170,000-ton iron-ore carrier for five years (from September 2006 to August 2011) 2) 300,000-ton iron-ore carrier for 20 years (from March 2011 to March 2031) |