The 'AAL Antwerp' alongside 'AAL Houston' at the CSSC Huangpu-Wenchong Shipyard in Guangzhou.

Premium project heavy lift carrier, AAL Shipping (AAL), has held a formal naming ceremony for the ‘AAL Antwerp’, the fourth vessel in its groundbreaking eight-strong, third-generation Super B-Class fleet. Reaching the halfway mark in its latest fleet expansion program, AAL is furthering its commitment to sustainable, high-capacity shipping solutions designed to meet the evolving demands of the multipurpose (MPP) project heavy lift shipping sector – a fitting milestone to help kickstart the carrier’s 30-year anniversary celebrations coming up in 2025.

The 32,000 dwt ‘AAL Antwerp’ – a methanol-ready, multipurpose heavy lift vessel – was officially named on November 15 at the CSSC Huangpu-Wenchong Shipyard in Guangzhou, China in the presence of invited dignitaries from across the local MPP supply chain.

Capable of transporting over 90,000 freight tons of cargo and boasting a combined lifting capacity of 700 tonnes, the vessel is engineered to accommodate an extensive range of cargo types, from heavy lift project equipment to breakbulk and dry bulk all at the same time. The capability of AAL’s fleet to handle multiple cargo types on any given sailing, is only matched by the expertise of its chartering, operations, engineering and crew who have honed AAL’s parcelling skills to a fine art – offering optimum economies of scale to its shippers.

Following her formal debut, ‘AAL Antwerp’ will immediately embark on her maiden voyage, joining sisterships ‘AAL Limassol’, ‘AAL Hamburg’, and ‘AAL Houston’ in servicing project cargo customers between Asia, Europe, Middle East and the Americas.

"With so many unknowns surrounding the global shipping sector moving into 2025, this milestone illustrates AAL’s own clear mission to provide our multipurpose cargo customers with unmatched sailings integrity, adaptability, and competitive solutions," said Frank Mueller, General Manager Oceania at AAL Shipping. "The building and employment of one of the project sector’s largest and youngest fleets does not represent the full extent of our investment in developing our service offering. We have active training programmes to nurture the skills of our teams at every level and provide them with state-of-the-art systems and process – all of this within a framework of sustainability and good governance.”

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.