Oct 18 | 2021
Also Brings Recent Heavy-lift Ship Acquisitions to Six
AAL Shipping said Friday it has added two more 33,000-deadweight-ton multipurpose vessels to its fleet and is in negotiations to build four additional IMO CO2-compliant vessels by 2024.
The MPV carrier signed a memorandum of understanding this month to add the W-Class vessels to its fleet, the AAL Mars and AAL Merkur. AAL previously added four MPVs from the second-hand market: the G-Class, 28,500-dwt AAL Galveston and AAL Genoa, as well as the “mega size” W-class 33,000 AAL Paris and Grey Fox.
“We have been commercially operating all of these vessels for some time, along with several of their sister vessels,” AAL said. “Already deployed worldwide to handle project heavy-lift, breakbulk, dry bulk and general cargo, they mat our customer and trade route demands perfectly.”
The addition of the six vessels brings AAL’s owned fleet to 569,600 dwt, about 80 percent of its total operating fleet of 711,200 dwt.
‘Third Generation Program’
AAL said it is progressing with its “third-generation” MPV ship building program and is negotiating with the CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard in China to build for four mega-size ships by 2024.
The vessels will be 32,000 dwt with 350-tonne heavy-lift cranes with combined 700-tonne maximum lift. AAL said the ships will be fully compliant with International Maritime Organization emissions regulations, and will feature technologies in line with the carrier’s digitalization and sustainability objectives.
The carrier designed the vessels with Columbia Shipmanagement, the combined team responsible for AAL’s newbuilding ship program.
“In one of the most interesting aspects of the vessels’ design, the accommodation blocks have been located at the front of the vessel,” AAL said. “This for position delivers flexibility to expand intake of over-dimensional cargo without obscuring visibility for the master.
AAL said that within five years, nearly 57 percent of the heavy-lift fleet will be more than 15 years old and will no longer meet stringent requirements for premium playing cargo. About 48 percent) of the current MPV fleet has lifting gear of more than 100 tonnes, and about 20 percent has “heavy-lift” gear.
