AAL adds two more heavy lifters

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.”