Madeira port does not affect iron ore shipments and production accident

A fire broke out on January 14 in one of eight shippers at the port of Madeira, St Louis, Maranhao state, Brazil, Vale said. The fire was brought under control and caused no injuries or environmental damage. The affected area is being assessed and the cause of the accident is under investigation.

The port of Madeira has three terminals, five berths and eight loaders with an annual shipping capacity of 230 million tons. The accident occurred at Pier 4 South Berth (P4S) on Shipper No. 6 (CN6). Another shipper No. CN7 in the berth was not affected. The company expects to resume shipping operations at the P4S terminal via CN7 shippers in the next few days.

The monthly iron ore shipment schedule will not be affected due to :(1) the seasonal decline in production in the northern system due to the arrival of the rainy season in northern Brazil; (2) The expected annual output of the northern system in 2021 is below the port's annual shipping capacity of 230 million tons. Vale expects to complete repairs to the CN6 shippers in the first half of 2021, so the incident will not have an impact on shipments and production in 2021.