AAL Shipping (AAL) executed a complex operation to transport over 12,800 Freight Tonnes (FRT) of heavy life project cargo from the South Korean ports of Kunsan and Pyeongtaek to Beaumont in Texas.

The project heavy-lift carrier said it shipped the LNG component along its regular 'Asia to The Americas Trade Lane' and onboard its 31,000-deadweight heavy-lift vessel, the AAL Brisbane.

The high-value project cargo will be installed at the LNG facility's new processing plant.

It comprised multiple-sized components totalling 12,800 freight tonnes, the largest of which was a 607-metric tonne AGR Absorber that measured just under 39 metres, used to remove H2S, CO2 and other organic sulphurs from raw feed gas.

Some of the other large, heavy lift units included a 40-metre and 436-metric tonne HP MR Absorber and three Dehydrators, weighing just shy of 200 tonnes each.

Heaviest piece ever lifted by AAL for Asia-North America

"We have a longstanding collaboration with the shippers, having successfully executed several long-haul fixtures for them in the past between Asia and the US Gulf.  On this shipment, the largest unit of 607 metric tons was the heaviest piece ever lifted and carried by AAL on our trade lane between Asia and North America," said Henrik Hansen, general manager of AAL Americas.

"In addition to the heavy lift cargo, this sailing also carried general and project cargoes to other US destinations and for multiple customers representing varied industry sectors," he added.

Hansen noted that the AAL Brisbane is an A-Class second-generation premium heavy lift vessel with a lifting capacity of 700 tonnes and cargo intake of 40,000 CBM.

"From a technical perspective, there were multiple challenges and loading such cargo from and discharging to barge is always a precarious process, during which exacting ballast water techniques are deployed to ensure the vessel remains perfectly upright whilst lifting and transferring the largest components," Hansen further said.

He noted that the total time required to discharge in Beaumont was 113 hours, with three and a half hours needed just for the largest unit.

The facility is estimated to have a send-out capacity of around 18 million tonnes of LNG per year.