AAL and Schoeller
Holdings’ founder and chairman, Heinrich Schoeller, signed the deal at the
recent naming ceremony of the AAL
Limassol at Huangpu
Wenchong Shipbuilding Company in China.
The two
latest ships, with a lifting capacity of 800 tonnes, 100 tonnes more than
earlier ships in the Super B-Class, are to be called AAL Newcastle and AAL
Mumbai.
AAL
chief executive Kyriacos Panayides, commented: “AAL’s new order of an
additional two Super B-Class powerhouses brings our newbuilding fleet up to
eight vessels and 256,000dwt. This is a strategic move to strengthen our global
industrial projects foothold and boost our capacity and service levels on major
shipping lanes connecting Oceania, Asia, Middle East, Europe, and the
Americas.”
Christophe
Grammare, AAL managing director revealed that the maiden voyage of the first
Super B-Class vessel, AAL Limassol, broke records with more than
77,000 tonnes of cargo booked for its voyage from Asia to Europe.
“A
broad mix of project heavy-lift and general cargo included two 135m-long barges
… fifteen 80.5m-long wind blades, modules, trucks, transformers, a dismantled
crane and much more besides,” he said. “This demonstrates the objective of
achieving greater economies of scale for our shippers as compared to most other
multipurpose vessels.
“Looking
into the future, the trend in industrial project cargo is towards fabricating
larger and more complex components, and we need to be ahead of that curve,” he
added. “The combination of these new ships’ unique design, cargo handling
technologies and heavy lift capabilities – which on the two additional vessels
has increased to 800 tonnes maximum lift – allows them to also accommodate the
far bigger and heavier cargoes of tomorrow, ones that until now may have been
out of our reach.”
The
contract was also announced at a press conference in Rotterdam. AAL used this
occasion to reveal a new charitable fundraising campaign. Its ‘AAL Back to the
Future Appeal’ will raise money for the Michael J Fox Foundation for
Parkinson’s Research.
Commenting on the
fundraising initiative, AAL director Felix Schoeller said: “The similarities
between a ground-breaking car that flew its passengers to the future and a
fleet of ground-breaking ships that will sail their cargoes there, was
compelling. Plus, the film series and its star, Michael J Fox, are so beloved
to us all. It is truly an honour to be an official fundraiser for such a noble
cause and supporting vital research that will help to one day find a cure for
Parkinson’s disease, which affects more than six million people globally.”