 In addition to the ships Vale ordered for itself, more ships of similar size were to be built for other shipping companies and chartered to Vale under exclusive long-term contracts.Eight very large ore carriers were ordered from the South Korean shipbuilder STX Offshore & Shipbuilding in Jinhae, South Korea (STX Jinhae), and Dalian, China (STX Dalian).The shipping company, STX Pan Ocean, signed a 25-year contract with Vale in 2009.