AAL has safely delivered 83 complete wind turbines over the past two years to the Wambo Wind Farm in Queensland, adding more than 500 megawatts of clean energy to the Australian grid – enough to power over 312,00 homes.

The project cargo carrier said it transported all wind turbines near Jandowae. It accomplished this across 18 sailings that employed vessels from its 31,000 dwt A-Class, 25,800 dwt G-Class, and 19,000 dwt S-Class heavy lift fleet.

AAL delivered its cargo in two project stages between 2023 and 2025. 

Stage one involved 42 turbines being transported over nine sailings, and this month the ‘AAL Genoa’ successfully completed Stage Two - nine further sailings to deliver the final 41 turbines. The combined sailings required no less than nine different multipurpose heavy lift vessels.

Shipped components comprised wind turbine towers, blades and other components loaded from multiple upstream ports in China, including Dongzao, Lüsi, Tianjin and Taicang.

The cargo was discharged in Brisbane with thousands of nautical miles covered per long-haul voyage.

Each turbine comprised towers split into eight sections, with each weighing up to 90 metric tonnes; wind turbine blades of over 80 metres in length; and other components weighing up to 76 metric tonnes per unit.

“Around 312,000 homes will now be powered by clean energy sources as a direct result of the team’s hard work on this long-term project. Australia has the potential to generate 82 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030, and I am proud of our work to support the transition and strengthen Australia’s energy security,” said Frank Mueller, general manager AAL’s General Manager Oceania.

Andrew Mangan, chartering manager with AAL Oceania, noted that for the wind blade shipments, AAL employed revolutionary synthetic lashing chains and slings for the first time. Traditional steel chains can swing during lashing and pose a risk of damage to cargo. 

In contrast, he said synthetic lashings significantly reduce that risk. “They’re also much lighter, improving both the safety and timing efficiency of our lashing operations - especially when gangs are working at heights of over nine metres to secure the uppermost blade tiers.”

“As with many projects of this nature, shifting timelines were a challenge. However, we successfully adapted vessel deployments and sailing schedules to meet all changing demands. This flexibility reflects our long-term commitment to increasing both the efficiency and frequency of our regular Asia–Australia sailings - ensuring AAL customers continue to benefit from the region’s most reliable project heavy lift service,” Mueller added.