PRESS RELEASE – AAL Shipping has opened its 25th year of operations with the successful delivery of a cargo of six rubber-tyred gantry cranes in a single sailing from the Port of Taicang to the South Florida Container Terminal (Port Miami), onboard its mega-size 31,000dwt vessel, the AAL Newcastle.

The gantry cranes each measured 25 metres in length, 24 metres in width and 26 metres in height and weighed around 150 tonnes. They were manufactured by Taicang’s Rainbow-Cargotec Industries for deployment at the fast-growing South Florida Container Terminal at Port Miami.

The complicated loading and discharge operations of these units took several days in each port respectively, due to the careful manoeuvering and securing of the units on the deck of the Newcastle to ensure optimum stowage capability and cargo safety.

The cargo was shipped along AAL’s Asia – US service, which offers regular sailings and flexible port calls in both continents.

“This operation highlights our growing capability on this in-demand route and the flexible tonnage we have in position”, comments Jack Zhou, General Manager and Chief Representative of AAL in China. “Every square metre of the AAL Newcastle’s vast 3,000 m2 weather deck space was harnessed to accommodate these RTG units and, with a completely full underdeck storage of other breakbulk cargo loaded on the same sailing, we made full use of her significant 40,000 cubic metres of cargo intake capacity.”