AAL reveals details of new heavy-lift ships
AAL Limassol starboard side scaled (Rendering: SDARI)
Singapore-based multi-purpose and heavy-lift operator, AAL Shipping, has released the first details of its Super B-Class heavy-lift ships developed jointly with Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM).
The first of six ships in the new class, AAL Limassol, is due for delivery from CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard, Guangzhou, in 2024.
Delivery of the vessels will coincide with high demand for project cargoes across various sectors. Meanwhile, much of the existing fleet is relatively old and inefficient, and has limited heavy-lift capacity.
The Super B-Class will incorporate a range of innovative features. With a cargo capacity of 42,000m3, the ships will have an extendable weather deck featuring a unique retractable deck extension system – the AAL Eco-Deck – to raise capacity further. The ships will be capable of operating with open hatches, enabling outsize components to be stowed safely in the holds.
There will be two box-shaped holds below deck, one of 68 x 25m and one of 38 x 25m, both with a height of 15.6m. Pontoons will allow cargo intake to be optimised and the absence of a centreline bulkhead will enable straightforward loading and discharge of bulk commodities.
The bridge and accommodation, located forward, will enable tall cargo consignments to be accommodated subject only to air draught and stability issues. Navigators, meanwhile, will have full and unobscured visibility from the bow.
The ships will have three 350-tonne cranes positioned on the port side. It will be possible to combine them in pairs for tandem lifts of up to 700 tonnes, with cranes one and two, or two and three, available for cargoes fore and aft.
Despite this innovative hull configuration, the Super B-Class ships will have a minimum draught of 6.5m, ensuring safe access to secondary ports where heavy and outsize industrial components are often required.
The dual-fuel ships will be ‘methanol-ready’, with MAN main engines of 7,380 kW as well as two 1,700 kW and one 1,065 kW diesel generators. They will meet NOx Tier III emission regulations with high-pressure selective catalytic reduction systems and will have a service speed of 14.5 knots.
The AAL Limassol will be followed into service by the AAL Antwerp, AAL Hamburg, AAL Houston, AAL Dubai, and AAL Dammam.
