 When "Vale Brasil" was diverted to Italy on her maiden voyage, there was speculation that the domestic steel industry of China had urged the authorities to protect their commercial interests.However, Vale has also received support from the Chinese steel companies as they would benefit from lower transportation costs.As a precaution against prolonged ban of "Valemax" vessels from the Chinese ports, Vale started constructing both land- and offshore-based transshipment hubs where iron ore can be loaded to smaller ships for final delivery.