AAL Australia (AAL) has successfully delivered a tailor-made heavy lift transport solution for a major shipment of chemical plant components from Sattahip, Thailand to Dampier on Australia’s west coast. The project showcased AAL’s ability to adapt its liner resources to provide a dedicated tramp-chartering solution that met complex customer requirements.
Demonstrating AAL’s expertise in bespoke tramp-chartering operations for their customer, American Shipping and Chartering (ASC), the project utilised one of the carrier’s highly versatile 19,000-deadweight S-Class heavy lift vessels, the AAL Dampier. With a combined maximum crane-lift capacity of 700 tonnes, three cargo holds, flexible tweendecks and an expansive weather deck, the vessel enabled a tailored stowage plan that maximised cargo capacity while ensuring compliance with safe-navigation visibility-line regulations for the tallest component, which measured almost 20 metres in height.
The cargo comprised a wide range of heavy lift and over-dimensional plant components, weighing up to and exceeding 100 tonnes. AAL Dampier’s crane was taken to it’s limit with the tallest and heaviest unit – a chemical tank – requiring a 16-point rigging arrangement with specific slinging lengths. Clearance was tight between the weather deck and the bottom of the unit.
Nicola Pacifico, AAL’s Head of Transport Engineering, explained “This shipment presented multiple technical challenges that required close collaboration between AAL’s chartering, operations and engineering teams. Measuring almost 20 metres in height, the tallest heavy-lift component required 16 rigging points with defined length specifications, taking the lift to the crane’s operating limit. With less than 500 mm of clearance between the weather deck and the unit, precision engineering and close oversight were essential. We deployed an on-site engineering team to supervise the operation and ensure a safe and successful delivery.”
Led by Perdaman Chemicals & Fertilisers, Project Ceres is a large-scale urea plant on the Burrup Peninsula, about 20 km northwest of Karratha, Western Australia. It is one of Australia’s largest downstream manufacturing projects, expected to cost around USD 4.5 billion, with the aim of enhancing food security and reducing the country’s reliance on imported fertilisers. Designed to produce approximately 2.3 million tonnes of urea annually, the facility will convert natural gas into urea, with gas supplied under a 20-year agreement with Woodside (with an option to extend).
Chris Yabsley, Chartering Manager at AAL Australia and based in its Brisbane office, added “This shipment is an excellent example of AAL’s ability to adapt our vessel deployment quickly and efficiently to meet any Australian project-cargo requirement, regardless of cargo size or schedule complexity. For this project, we redeployed the heavy-lift vessel AAL Dampier from her regular liner service to provide a dedicated tramp solution. She proved to be the ideal vessel for the operation, and we successfully loaded and discharged the cargo without incident or damage. The tailor-made engineering solution and precise transport execution demonstrated the full capability and commitment of our team.”
Back to All News