AAL Shipping reports that its heavy lift carrier AAL Limassol has completed its maiden voyage to Europe, safely delivering over 89,000 freight tons of multipurpose cargo on a single sailing.
The shipping company says that the voyage represents “a massive step forward” for project owners who need to move their time-sensitive and valuable cargoes safely and efficiently.
The first vessel in the company’s ‘Super B-Class’ fleet, the AAL Limassol was delivered to AAL Shipping at a formal naming ceremony at the CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard in Guangzhou, China, back in April. Shortly thereafter, the vessel began its maiden voyage from Asia to Europe, for which a wide variety of heavy lift and project cargo had been booked.
In China, a dismantled crane, transformers, modules, trucks, rotor houses as well as two 135 m-long barges, which weighed 1,650 tonnes and 1,425 tonnes, were loaded onboard.
The vessel’s last call in Asia saw the vessel stop at the Indian port of Tuticorin. Here, the company’s “AAL Eco-Deck” – a deck extension system – was called into action to facilitate the loading of 15 onshore wind turbine blades, weighing 30.6 tonnes each. This cargo combination meant that the AAL Limassol’s maiden voyage accommodated 89,000 freight tons of cargo in total.
Once the cargoes were secured, the AAL Limassol departed Tuticorin on course for Europe, transiting around the Cape of Good Hope and the English Channel to Klaipeda, Lithuania – her first European port of call – to discharge the wind turbine blades. The AAL Limassol then then continued its journey to deliver the remaining heavy cargoes in Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Cuxhaven, Germany.
