AAL Shipping has completed a high-profile project cargo voyage, delivering three massive mobile harbour cranes from the Netherlands to Mexico and Chile aboard the AAL Hamburg. The shipment included over 220,000 freight tons and marked the first open hatch sailing for this Super B-Class vessel.
The cranes, manufactured by Konecranes, are the ESP 10 model—some of the largest in their class, built to handle Super-Post-Panamax container vessels. Each unit weighs approximately 642 tonnes, with dimensions stretching over 80 meters in length and standing nearly 60 meters tall. Given their immense height, traditional shipping methods simply weren’t an option.
To tackle the challenge, AAL Shipping developed an open hatch configuration that allowed the cranes to be stowed on the tank top of the AAL Hamburg, with their jibs lowered and resting on deck. This method not only minimized the overall height of the cargo but also made it possible to transit the Panama Canal—shaving roughly 2,800 nautical miles off the total voyage.
Two cranes were loaded in Schiedam, with the third added in Westdorpe. During lifting operations, the cargo reached a combined height of 104 meters, safely managed by the vessel’s onboard heavy lift cranes, which can jointly handle up to 700 tonnes.
Yahaya Sanusi, Deputy Head of Transport Engineering at AAL, emphasized the engineering foresight behind the Super B-Class design. “The air draft may be so high that the vessel carrying these cargoes could not pass under bridges,” he noted. “By incorporating the open hatch capability, we reduced the total air draft by over 16 meters.”
The operation highlighted how increasing cargo dimensions are testing the limits of conventional maritime transport. It also showcased how vessel design is evolving to meet these new demands without compromising voyage time or safety.
Ole Kornol, Head of Project Management, MHC, at Konecranes, praised the execution. “AAL could offer an excellent shipping solution where the cranes are stowed on the tank top deck reducing the overall air draft of the shipment to the absolute minimum… The cooperation with AAL was very constructive and professional.”
