AAL transported 20,000 freight tonnes of fabricated breakbulk reclaimer components from Henderson to Port Hedland in Western Australia. This infrastructure will uplift the port capacity of an iron ore mining facility in Nelson Point.

Through its scheduled monthly "Asia to Australia West Coast Liner Service (AUWC)," AAL provided the solution for global project logistics provider NMT and its client, industrial engineering giant Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions.

AAL said the lift, stowage, and transport of these units — the largest of which was the bucketwheel boom at just under 65 metres long — was undertaken by the crew of the AAL Nanjing, working in close cooperation with AAL's transport engineers who had been planning the operation since the start of the year.

"Due to the large and unconventional size of the reclaimer components, which covered a total area on the vessel of more than 1,800 square metres, the lifting and stowage challenges were significant," said Nicola Pacifico,  AAL’s head of Transport Engineering.

Pacifico noted that the collaboration proved successful, and the cargo was safely discharged in Port Hedland on schedule for onward transport to Nelson Point, where it will be used in the handling of iron ore.

Frank Mueller, general manager of AAL Australia, welcomed the partnership, noting that AAL has worked with NMT and Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions in the past on domestic industrial projects across Australia.

"The local multipurpose shipping market is still challenging since COVID, with port disruptions and labour issues affecting schedules and normal operations," Mueller said.

"The Australian project sector itself has also experienced upheaval and will continue to weather difficult external conditions until a possible peak of investment of A$95 billion per annum in planned infrastructure between 2023-24 and 2025-26."

"We will therefore continue to ensure our services within the sector remain consistent and keep delivering for our customers despite any and all market challenges," the AAL executive added.