Valemax No. 8 has not even loaded its first ore and it’s already worth 36% less than it cost

Brazil-based Vale has so far received 8 of the 35 it has ordered from Korean and Chinese shipbuilders, but they have been drifting aimlessly since May because China, by far Vale’s biggest customer, has so far only granted one vessel port entry and has since banned anything over 300,000 tonnes.

In December, one of the ships – rather unfortunately called the Vale Beijing – ruptured its hull and temporarily blocked a port from where Vale ships more than 130 million tonnes per annum.

Chinese shipowners are saying the carriers will worsen overcapacity and depress freight rates, while steelmakers are also against the leviathan-size ships, which are described as “each almost as large as the Bank of America tower in New York,” because they will give Vale even more control over pricing and delivery.

Bloomberg reports according website VesselsValue.com, the latest Valemax to be received by the company is already worth 36% less than what it cost.

The Vale Malaysia’s worth is now pegged at only $68 million because a “slump in values of dry-bulk ships that were ordered before returns plunged is getting worse as shipyards lower contract prices for new vessels.”

80% of the world’s iron ore is borne by so-called Capesize vessels which can only carry a third of the cargo of a Valemax. The value of these ships has declined even more – “new Capesize ships worth $69.9 million in April 2010 are assessed at $39.9 million today,” according to a VesselsValue analyst.

Vale, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto completely dominate the 1 billion tonne seaborne iron ore trade – Vale alone controls a quarter of world supply.