AAL Shipping (AAL) has received AAL Houston, the third vessel in its eight-ship, third-generation Super B-Class newbuilding fleet.
This 32,000 dwt dual-fuel multipurpose heavy lift carrier prepares for its maiden voyage.
Named after AAL’s operations hub in the Americas, the vessel was formally christened at a ceremony held at the CSSC Huangpu-Wenchong Shipyard in Guangzhou, China, on 12 September, with representatives from AAL Shipping, Columbia Shipmanagement, and special guests in attendance.
Like its sister vessels, AAL Houston has been specially designed to meet the evolving demands of the industrial project and heavy-lift sectors. Capable of transporting up to 90,000 freight tons of project and breakbulk cargo, as demonstrated by AAL Limassol on its maiden voyage, the vessel is equipped with three port-side cranes with a combined lifting capacity of 700 tonnes.
Its accommodation block is positioned at the front for enhanced visibility when handling oversized cargo, and it includes AAL’s retractable ‘AAL ECO-DECK’ extension system, expanding its clear deck space to 5,200 m².
This design is the result of years of collaboration between AAL, parent company Schoeller Holdings, Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM), SDARI, and the CSSC Huangpu-Wenchong Shipyard, as highlighted in interviews with Schoeller Holdings’ Founder and Chairman Heinrich Schoeller and AAL CEO Kyriacos Panayides.
“There is always a dilemma during new building 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,” said Panayides.
AAL Houston will soon join its sister vessels, AAL Limassol and AAL Hamburg, as part of the Super B-Class fleet, operating on major routes between Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Australia, and serving a wide range of industries and project sectors.
For its maiden voyage, the vessel will carry a diverse range of project cargo, including HRSG modules, transformers, plant equipment, and barges.
The remaining ships in the Super B-Class series are scheduled for delivery between now and 2026, with the upcoming vessels, AAL Newcastle and AAL Mumbai, featuring an enhanced heavy lift capacity of up to 800 tonnes.
