The Baltic and International Maritime Council, the world's largest association of shipowners, forecast Chinese iron ore imports will grow at a rate of 7.5 percent in 2013 up from 6.4 percent in 2012, driven by higher steel demand for housing, infrastructure and machinery as well as the increasing cost of the lower quality domestic ore.

The moce is likely to spur demand for larger dry bulk vessels to transport the commodity, BIMCO said in a report released on Wednesday.

"When we look into 2013, the fundamentals of the dry bulk segment are improving on both supply and demand side variables," said Peter Sand, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO.

"We are still having a tonnage overhang but, as we see global GDP improve, demand for dry bulk tonnage is also set to increase, driven by surging demand for iron ore and coal. This development should ease the pressure on ship owners and operators," he added.

In September China imported the largest amount of iron ore since the record-high imports in January 2011. The 65.01 million tons imported in September strengthens the latest indication of a still growing Chinese demand for imported iron ore.

BIMCO calculations show that the Chinese iron ore content has declined since early 2008. "This is good news for the dry bulk market, as it implies that the real costs of using domestically produced iron ore have increased," BIMCO said.

zhousiyu@chinadaily.com.cn