The company gave no information on the potential impact on exports or any damage sustained.

However, ship chartering sources expected cargo loading delays as a result, with one reporting early on Jan. 14 that the berth where the shiploader caught fire was closed, while other berths at the terminal continued to operate. A shipowner with a vessel loading at PDM told S&P Global Platts that the fire had been at PDM's 4S shiploader – in the main VLOC (Very Large Ore Carrier) berth – at about 0200h local time.

"Vale informs that an incident occurred in the early hours of this Thursday, January 14, in one of our ship loaders at the Ponta da Madeira Maritime Terminal, in São Luís, Maranhão," the company said in an e-mailed statement. "The fire brigades and the fire department were activated and the fire contained, without any victims or environmental damage. The terminal continues to operate. The affected site will undergo an assessment. The causes of the incident are under investigation."

A shipbroker source noted that another berth at Ponta da Madeira had already been closed because of a collision recently but there are another three berths working normally.