Vale’s ship strategy on the rocks

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They haven’t even all been built yet but it looks like Vale’s ill-fated mega-ships are already up for sale.

José Carlos Martins, pictured, the mining company’s executive director for iron ore and strategy, told reporters on Tuesday that it is now “preferable” to sell the so-called Valemaxes and then lease them back.

The multibillion-dollar project to control freight costs by building a fleet of 35 Valemaxes, a pet project of the overly ambitious former chief executive Roger Agnelli, has seemed doomed from the start.

First, none of the ships have been able to dock in China, Vale’s biggest market. Insiders say the problem is political opposition from local shipbuilders, while the company publicly puts it down to technical problems – either way, it doesn’t seem to be the best-planned project.

Second, a leak earlier this month aboard Vale Beijing has also opened a can of worms over safety concerns.

The question now is: who on earth would want to buy them and at what price? The Chinese would be the obvious option but the country’s shipowners are already suffering from the sharp downturn in the industry.

With high fuel prices, rock-bottom freight rates, and a global oversupply of ships, Vale may find itself stuck with the Valemaxes for a while.