AAL Shipping Delivers Power Plant Units to Australia

AAL Shipping has transported a set of critical Toshiba-built power station components on a single shipment from China and Japan to the eastern Australian state of Queensland.

The cargo being carried for client DB Schenker initially comprised a 270-ton transformer and 600 cubic meters of accessories, which were loaded onto the 31,000-deadweight A-Class heavy-lift vessel AAL Singapore at the Port of Shanghai.

The cargo, destined for the Callide coal-fired power station as part of a US$200 million project to fix damaged turbines, was getting readied for delivery to the Port of Gladstone in Queensland, with the transformer due to be offloaded to a barge and shipped to shore.

“Whilst loading the transformer in China and before her sailing to Gladstone, our client requested if the AAL Singapore could deviate to Yokohama in Japan and load other critical accessories for the same project, which we were happy to do,” said Chris Yabsley, chartering manager at AAL Australia. “AAL was then further engaged to harness our vessel’s heavy lift cranes and transfer a large 276-ton generator stator from wharf laydown to a waiting barge, which we again executed seamlessly. This project illustrates how, with cooperation, flexibility, and trust between carrier and customer, we can deliver significant value beyond the initial project scope,” the executive added.

Among the challenges encountered were the complex heavy-lift operations, shore-ship transfers and making all critical delivery dates to meet barge, tide, and local authority deadlines. The discharge of the transformer and stator, meanwhile, could only be done during daylight hours to ensure inch-perfect transfer onto the self-propelled modular transporters, or SPMTs, positioned on the barge.

Once onshore, the cargo was transported by road some 100 kilometers to the Callide plant.

“The project was completed on time and without issue, to ensure vital works at the power station can go ahead without delay,” Yabsley said.

AAL Shipping, founded in the Netherlands in 1995, has been headquartered in Singapore since 2009. The carrier owns a fleet of 24 vessels of various classes with a combined total of 688,200 DWT. It has has been operating its Asia-Australia liner service for more than 26 years.


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