Brazilian mining Company Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) announced on Wednesday that it has signed a freight contract with Norway's Bergesen Worldwide Ltd (B.W. Bulk) to develop an exclusive Brazil-China shuttle service.

The 25-year contract features the construction of the four largest iron ore carriers in the world, each with a capacity to carry 388,000 tonnes of ore. The first carrier will be delivered by 2011. In 1986, CVRD and B.W. Bulk put into service the Berge Stahl, which is the largest ore carrier in the world, with a capacity of 364,000 deadweight tonnes.