LaycanDeskIron ore bulk freight
Iron ore fines, lump, pellets and concentrate on Capesize and VLOC tonnage from Brazil, Australia, Guinea and Canada, and on Supramax and Panamax from India and smaller ports. Freight for iron ore fines, lump, pellets and concentrate: Capesize and VLOC cargoes from Ponta da Madeira, Tubarão, Port Hedland, Dampier, Saldanha Bay, Sept-Îles and the new Simandou transhipment port in Guinea, and Supramax and Panamax cargoes from India's east and west coasts, with the IMSBC iron ore fines schedule and TML certificates settled before a ship is named.
Iron ore is the biggest dry bulk trade and it is built around the biggest ships. Brazil's Ponta da Madeira has a natural draft of 26 metres at low tide and takes very large ore carriers of up to about 400,000 dwt; Port Hedland, which shipped 571.6 million tonnes in the year to June 2026, is a tidal port where a loaded Capesize sails only on the high-water window; Saldanha Bay loads at up to 10,000 tonnes an hour at two berths for ships of 310,000 dwt; Sept-Îles in Quebec takes ships up to 400,000 tonnes. In Guinea, Simandou ore goes out from Morebaya by barge to transhipment vessels offshore, the first commercial cargo sailing for China in December 2025. Indian ore moves on smaller ships from Mormugao and Paradip. Fines are the risk cargo: iron ore fines are IMSBC Group A under their own schedule, agreed at IMO in 2013 with a modified Proctor/Fagerberg test for the transportable moisture limit, and a cargo shipped wetter than its TML can liquefy and take the ship's stability with it.
Send us the ore type (fines, lump, pellets or concentrate), the IMSBC declaration with the TML and moisture certificates for fines, quantity with tolerance and whose option, load port with the draft and tide on the laycan, discharge port with its draft and rate, laytime terms, laycan, commission and the charterer's name. Terminal-to-terminal cargoes go to owners of Capesize and VLOC tonnage; cargoes from ports that cannot take a Capesize, or into receivers that need smaller parcels, go to Panamax, Kamsarmax and Supramax owners. The mine and the shipper of record are asked first, and every counterparty is screened before an owner sees the cargo. The Baltic Exchange C3 route (Tubarão to Qingdao) is a published benchmark for the Brazil trade; we quote named ships against the actual stem, not an index.
How it ships
- Shiploader at deep-water terminals
- Tidal sailing windows at Port Hedland
- Barge transhipment offshore Guinea
- IMSBC Group A for iron ore fines: TML and moisture certificates
- Pellets and lump load without the fines schedule risk
Load areas
- Brazil (Ponta da Madeira, Tubarão)
- Australia (Port Hedland, Dampier)
- South Africa (Saldanha Bay)
- Canada (Sept-Îles, Pointe-Noire)
- Guinea (Morebaya, Simandou)
- India (Mormugao, Paradip)
Discharge areas
- China (Qingdao, Majishan and the steel-mill ports)
- Japan and Korea
- Southeast Asia
Ships that carry it
The cargo itself, on Commbril
Questions charterers and owners ask
Why do owners ask for the TML certificate on iron ore fines?
Because iron ore fines are an IMSBC Group A cargo that can liquefy if shipped above their transportable moisture limit. The Code has an individual schedule for iron ore fines with its own TML test, and the master will not load without the TML and moisture certificates. Pellets and lump do not carry the same liquefaction risk, which is why the ore type is the first question.
Capesize or VLOC: which does my cargo need?
It depends on both ports. Ponta da Madeira, Sept-Îles and Saldanha Bay take ships of 300,000 to 400,000 dwt; many discharge ports do not. A VLOC only makes sense when both ends can take her draft; otherwise the cargo goes on a Capesize of around 180,000 dwt, or on Panamax and Supramax tonnage where the port or the receiver needs it.
What does a tidal load port change?
At Port Hedland a loaded Capesize sails on the high-water window, and a missed tide costs about twelve hours. Owners want the sailing draft on the laycan dates and the tide table, so the stem should say what draft the shipper plans to load to.
Do you use the C3 route as the freight?
No. The Baltic Exchange C3 assessment for Tubarão to Qingdao is a published benchmark for the trade. We put the actual stem to owners with ships open for it and come back with named ships, not an index level.