AAL Shipping (AAL) announced that it had transported some heavy lift cranes and related components for port and terminal development projects worldwide.

These have included an operation to move four 439-tonne Liebherr shore cranes from Shuaiba in Kuwait to Haiphong in Vietnam for a new dry dock facility.

A second operation comprised two shipments of six new-build Kalmar Automated Stacking Cranes (ASC) from Taicang and Shanghai to Melbourne, Australia, for a container terminal expansion programme.

In a statement, AAL said the project heavy lift cargo operations are complex at the best of times and made more challenging when the cargo involved is older, and its integrity and even specification are in question.

"This operation involved the transport onboard the 31,000dwt heavy lift mega-size ‘AAL Melbourne’ of four second-hand Liebherr crane units. The lead time of this project was extremely short, as the client had been left stranded by another carrier, realising the operational parameters were beyond their scope," said Yahaya Sanusi, deputy head of transport engineering at AAL.

Sanusi said three of the units were the LMH 500 series and the other an LMH 550 — some of the biggest cranes in the series, each weighing more than 400 tonnes, 35 metres tall and featuring a jib length of close to 55 metres.

"The loading of cranes of different sizes and of an older age required detailed preparation, made more complicated by the fact that the delivered units were in far poorer condition than expected and documentation provided was inaccurate," the AAL executive explained, noting that this not only required on-site stowage plan adjustment but also the re-calibration of each jib's centre of gravity to ensure lifting stability could be guaranteed, among others.

"The cranes were extremely tall and affected bridge visibility, requiring special permission from the Flag State administration and further safety precautions, including the engagement of an additional safety officer on the bridge," Sanusi added.

He said that at the port of Haiphong, the four units had to be discharged to a barge that was not self-trimming, which meant AAL could only discharge one crane at a time and to specific areas of the vessel. 

"Despite all challenges, we delivered the cargo safely and within laycan."

Meanwhile, AAL also recently shipped three ASCs, each 35 metres wide and 215 tonnes, from Taicang in China to Melbourne, onboard the 31,000dwt heavy lift mega-size ‘AAL Hong Kong’.

It said a second sailing is planned with sister vessel ‘AAL Shanghai’ in early July to transport three further cranes of the same type into the Victoria State Capital from Shanghai.

The announcement said all six cranes are being shipped for cargo handling solutions provider Cargotec for use in Melbourne's Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) as part of an ongoing expansion programme for which AAL already shipped 20 ASC units in 2016.

Nicola Pacifico, head of transport engineering at AAL, said visibility challenges posed by these tall units required early dialogue with local authorities and other stakeholders to establish and then secure necessary safety requirements for operational approval.

"Multiple diagrams, extensive documentation, detailed safety analyses and a raft of preventive measures were prepared and delivered through a strong collaborative effort involving AAL's Engineering and Operations teams and our Technical and Crew Manager, Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM)," Pacifico said.

AAL's head of transport engineering further noted that measures undertaken included the deployment of CCTV cameras to compensate for blind spots, establishing forward radar, and employing additional watchkeeping, tugs and pilot assistance during departure and arrival at port.