Project heavy lift carrier, AAL Shipping, marked a milestone with its 32,000 dwt Super B-Class newbuild, AAL Limassol completing its maiden voyage. The vessel delivered over 89,000 freight tons of multipurpose cargo in a single sailing to Europe. This not only moves the needle for the company as a record cargo intake but also provides project owners a valuable option when it comes to moving time-sensitive and valuable cargo efficiently. 

“The delivery and maiden voyage of the AAL Limassol has been a highlight of the year for AAL,” said Christophe Grammare, Managing Director at AAL Shipping. “We were confident about the design of the Super B-Class and its capability and cargo intake. The completion of the first maiden voyage of these third generation newbuildings demonstrates that that confidence was well placed. The Super B-Class vessels are everything we have been hoping for and more. The ‘AAL Hamburg’ is now also in service, and the ‘AAL Houston’ will shortly follow – with another five of these vessels to also join the roster – further reinforcing our fleet of highly capable multipurpose heavy lift tonnage.”

Read more: AAL christens first Super B-Class heavy lift MPP, AAL Limassol

Shortly after its delivery at the CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard in Guangzhou, China in April, AAL Limassol began its maiden voyage from Asia to Europe, for which a wide variety of heavy lift and project cargo had been booked.

In China, several heavy equipment including a dismantled crane, transformers, modules, trucks, rotor houses, and two 135-meter-long barges weighing 1,650 tonnes and 1,425 tonnes were loaded onboard a vessel. During its last stop in Asia at the Indian port of Tuticorin, the ‘AAL Eco-Deck’ was used to facilitate the loading of 15 onshore wind turbine blades, each weighing 30.6 tonnes. Altogether, AAL Limassol’s maiden voyage accommodated a total of 89,000 freight tons of cargo.

After securing the cargoes, AAL Limassol left Tuticorin and headed for Europe. The ship passed around the Cape of Good Hope and through the English Channel before arriving at Klaipeda, its first European port of call, to unload the wind turbine blades. From there, AAL Limassol continued on to Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Cuxhaven to deliver the remaining heavy cargoes.

Read more: AAL Shipping takes delivery of second vessel in its Super B-Class series

The AAL Eco-Deck is a deck extension system that will be installed on all 8 Super B-Class vessels joining the AAL fleet. It expands the clear weather deck space to over 5,000 sq m by utilizing the vessel’s triple deck panels. With the extended deck, AAL Limassol accommodated the 80.5 m-long wind blades alongside sizable barges and other cargoes already loaded onboard. The wind blades were positioned using the ship’s heavy lift cranes, capable of lifting a combined 700 tonnes.

“The maiden voyage of the AAL Limassol is the perfect example of the flexibility and functionality of the Super B-Class vessel design and its ability to accommodate a large and varied cargo intake. Compared to our A-Class vessels, which have a similar deadweight and underdeck volume, the Super B-Class fleet can handle more cargo as there are no restrictions with regard to the line of visibility,” Valentin Gherciu, Head of Operations at AAL Shipping, said. “The highest volume carried on our A-Class fleet to date has been approximately 64,000 freight tons. AAL Limassol’s maiden voyage already set a record of more than 89,000 freight tons – roughly 40 percent more cargo volume in a single voyage – demonstrating what we can now offer to our worldwide project customers.”

Grammare added: “The voyage has been an absolute success. The vessel’s configuration provides opportunities for us to not only enhance our offering to project cargo shippers around the world but also tap into new markets – like river barges on the AAL Limassol, or the burgeoning offshore segment and other major project types coming online.”