AAL Shipping has executed a complex operation to transport over 12 800 freight t of heavy lift project cargo from the South Korean ports of Kunsan and Pyeongtaek to Beaumont in Texas – shipped along its in-demand regular ‘Asia to The Americas Trade Lane’ and onboard its 31 000 DWT heavy lift vessel, the AAL Brisbane. The shipment was part of a major LNG project in the US’s second-largest state, Texas.
The high value project cargo will be installed at the LNG facility’s new processing plant. It comprised of multiple sized components totalling 12 800 freight t, the largest of which was a 607 t AGR absorber that measured just under 39 m, used to remove hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and other organic sulfurs from raw feed gas. Some of the other large heavy lift units included a 40-m and 436-t HP MR absorber and three dehydrators weighing just shy of 200 t each.
Henrik Hansen, GM of AAL Americas, commented: “We have a longstanding collaboration with the shippers, having successfully executed several long-haul fixtures for them in the past between Asia and the US Gulf. On this shipment, the largest unit of 607 metric tons was the heaviest piece ever lifted and carried by AAL on our trade lane between Asia and North America.”
“In addition to the heavy lift cargo, this sailing also carried general and project cargoes to other US destinations and for multiple customers representing varied industry sectors. The AAL Brisbane is an A-Class second-generation premium heavy lift vessel, with a lifting capacity of 700 t and cargo intake of 40 000 m3, and she proved uniquely able to handle this complex shipment.
“From a technical perspective, there were multiple challenges and loading such cargo from and discharging to barge is always a precarious process during which exacting ballast water techniques are deployed to ensure the vessel remains perfectly upright whilst lifting and transferring the largest components. Total time required to discharge in Beaumont was 113 hours, with 3.5 hours needed just for the largest unit. The operation proved a great success and is down to the dedication of our engineers, ops team and the vessel’s highly experienced crew.”
With an estimated send out capacity of around 18 million tpy of LNG, the facility will create hundreds of direct jobs and enhance US energy security, whilst helping to export clean energy from Texas to the world.