Brazilian mining giant Vale SA reached an agreement to sell three of its Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOCs) to a consortium led by ICBC International (ICBC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Under the USD 269 million deal, finalized on June 30, Vale sold three 400,000 dwt Valemaxes.

The ships are scheduled to join their new owner by August, 2016, according to Vale.

The company added that it negotiating the sale of other vessels, “which is consistent with its strategy of strengthening the balance sheet and focusing on core assets.”

In June, the mining giant informed that it has repaid USD 1.000 billion out of the USD 3.000 billion drawn under the Revolving Credit Lines in January 2016.

Vale partially used the proceeds from the USD 1.250 billion, 5.875% Guaranteed Notes due 2021, to repay some of its lines of credit.