AAL SHIPPING has overcome complex logistical challenges to transport a 560-tonne crane across the world, from Kobe to New Orleans.
The Singaporean project heavy lift carrier transported the crane along its regular Asia – Americas trade lane service onboard its 31,000 dwt heavy lift vessel AAL Kembla.
AAL said the operation posed unique challenges due to the component’s immense size and complex load configuration, with precise engineering and time-saving adjustments required to safely execute the shipment.
In total, the consignment included the crane body, measuring 20.14 metres in length, 15.5 metres in width, and 19 metres in height, as well as a 60-tonne crane boom and five large grab buckets, each exceeding 100 tonnes.
The components were all destined for the USA-based marine solutions company Curtin Maritime.
In Kobe, a barge laden with the components arrived alongside the A-Class vessel for loading, with each unit’s position onboard carefully planned in accordance with the outreach of AAL Kembla’s 350-tonne capacity cranes, AAL said.
AAL said the cranes were deployed in tandem to provide a maximum payload of 700 tonnes, with two lifting points determined to load 302 tonnes and 258 tonnes respectively.
Incoming adverse weather conditions prompted the on-site AAL Engineering team to adjust the lifting plan, ensuring that the operations could safely be sped up to avoid delays to the loading sequence.
Nicola Pacifico, head of transport engineering at AAL explained, “Our team’s swift response in modifying the lifting plan was critical to avoiding delays and maintaining safety standards”.
“This level of flexibility in our operations ensured we were able to deliver our client commitments and stick to the schedule of our Asia-Americas Trade Route, arriving in New Orleans towards the end of December 2024.”
AAL said that in New Orleans, the original plan was to discharge cargo using a floating crane onto the client’s crane barge, but that a change in requirements meant that AAL Kembla’s heavy lift cranes were once again called upon to handle the heavy lifting, this time discharging the units onto a material barge.
Mr Pacifico said any cargo operation involving loading or discharge onto barges is tricky and made even more complex due to the sheer size and weight of the components involved.
“Multiple stability simulations were conducted to ensure that each stage of the operation would proceed within established safety limits, despite the challenging weight distribution,” he said.
“This resulted in careful planning of the discharge sequence and the position of other cargoes to ensure that there was sufficient reserve stability for each heavy lift operation.”
Henrik Hansen, general manager of AAL Americas, said “This successful heavy lift cargo operation stands as a testament to AAL’s ability to stay flexible and harness its engineering expertise in overcoming complex logistical challenges”.
“This shipment took a great deal of coordination between us and the client due to the size of the components and the requirements, with extensive planning from our commercial, engineering and operational teams at both the port of loading and discharge.
“Effective communication and flexibility from both sides played a huge role in executing this shipment flawlessly as it went through several different scenarios for loading and discharging, and at multiple stages of this project we had to pivot our plans and develop adjusted solutions.”
