Brazilian mining group Vale announced it has recently sold three ore cargo ships to a consortium led by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) for a total of US$269 million.

The three ships, capable of carrying an aggregate of 400,000 tonnes of cargo, would be delivered to the consortium next month, online media outlet Macauhub this week quoted the Brazilian firm as saying.

Vale aimed to dispose of more ships in order to focus on its core business, the report said. The Brazilian group sold four cargo ships to China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company for a total of US$445 million in June last year.