After vessels AAL Hamburg and AAL Limassol, project heavy-lift carrier, AAL Shipping has welcomed another addition to its Super B-Class vessel fleet. Felix Schoeller, Director of the company, shared that AAL Houston was delivered at the CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding in Guangzhou, marking another milestone for the carrier.

AAL Houston is the third vessel of its Class to be delivered to AAL Shipping in 2024. Like all the vessels in the series, it is equipped with three heavy lift port side cranes, capable of lifting 350 tonnes, each combinable to a 700 tonnes maximum lift.

Earlier this year, the company celebrated the maiden voyages of AAL Limassol, the first to be delivered, and AAL Hamburg, which followed shortly after. In fact, AAL Limassol’s maiden voyage was record-breaking in terms of cargo intake, delivering 89,000 freight tons of multipurpose cargo in a single sailing.

The design of the Super B-Class is the culmination of a long-standing collaboration between parent organisation Schoeller Holdings, AAL, Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM), SDARI and the CSSC Huangpu-Wenchong Shipyard.

AAL Shipping has ordered eight Super-B Class vessels in total from CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding, and with three already delivered, five more remain to be added to the company’s fleet. The vessels will be deployed on key routes from Asia to Europe, America, and Australia.

Schoeller Holding’s Founder and Chairman Heinrich Schoeller said, “Our first-generation vessels were built in 2002. After our second generation of vessels from 2010 to 2014, we have returned with the improved, new version, the Super B-Class. The culmination of all that experience – from the shipyard, SDARI, AAL, CSM and Schoeller Holdings – has gone into these latest ships. The Super B-Class is a completely new type of vessel, and has been painstakingly designed to meet the demands of the future.”

Kyriacos Panayides, AAL Shipping CEO added, “There is always a dilemma during newbuilding projects – satisfying the demands of your market and customers today, but crucially anticipating the requirements of tomorrow. We are at a crossroads of environmental change and a rapidly developing project landscape. Demands upon our fleet have never been higher – so we needed to raise the bar with these heavy lift vessels and the results are already positive, with the maiden voyages of the ‘AAL Limassol’ and ‘AAL Hamburg’ breaking cargo records.”

“This investment of time and money, in designing and building the ships of tomorrow, is part of our ongoing charter to provide our customers with the finest fleet and service capabilities we possibly can. With the extra tonnage capacity and cargo handling capability that the Super B-Class provides, we are not only strengthening our existing trade routes worldwide but offering major project stakeholders – onshore and offshore – long-term employment commitments and peace of mind that their own schedules can be built upon,” he continued.

The AAL Houston will soon join the first two vessels in the Super B-Class fleet, the AAL Limassol and AAL Hamburg, trading on key routes from Asia to Europe, the Americas and Australia and serving all industry and project sectors. Her maiden voyage will see the vessel transport a broad mix of project cargo including HRSG modules, transformers, plant equipment and barges.

The remaining vessels in the Super B-Class series will be delivered between now and 2026, including the AAL Newcastle and AAL Mumbai which will have an increased maximum heavy lift capability of 800 tonnes.