Eships to Transport Alumina to Aluminium Smelter Project

ABU DHABI — Emirates Ship Investment Company (Eships) has won a contract to transport approximately one million tonnes of alumina annually to Emirates Aluminium, or EMAL, which is building a $5.7 billion aluminium smelter in Abu Dhabi . EMAL’s smelter at Al Taweelah is scheduled to produce its first high-grade semi-finished aluminium products in April 2010 and will be in full operation January 2011. Eships will transport the alumina in lots of 60,000 tonnes in modern “Panamax” ships – the largest ships able to pass through the Panama Canal. The ships will initially unload at Jebel Ali port, Dubai, but will switch to Khalifa Port in Taweelah when ready.