Shortlist spotlight 2025: Excellence in Engineering

For this award, our judges were looking for the transport engineering team that, during the last 12 months, has demonstrated its ability to overcome unusual transport and installation challenges, using customised engineering solutions and deploying innovative engineering methods to maximise the potential of equipment.

Our 2025 shortlist includes:

AAL Shipping

For this year’s Excellence in Engineering Award, AAL Shipping highlighted the operations and capabilities of its Super B-Class fleet. These dual-fuel ready, 32,000 dwt heavy lift vessels feature three heavy lift cranes, multiple cargo hold configurations for high-volume shipments, open-hatch sailing capabilities for very tall and heavy pre-assembled units, increased deck strength and crane outreach for high-value cargoes. Equipped with the innovative ECO-DECK system, the Super B-Class vessels can take on more cargo units per voyage and have already broken records for AAL.

Allelys

Allelys completed the lift, transport and installation of a 600-tonne, 42 m-long railway bridge in the UK. Following evaluation from its engineering team, Allelys decided against conventional methods, which would involve hydraulic jacking or climbing jacks. Performing an eight-point lift with two gantries, our judging panel applauded both the money and time that Allelys saved its client whilst also minimising disruption to the public.

CJ ICM

For this award, CJ ICM showcased its execution of a major project on behalf of Aksa Energy, which decided to relocate five power plants from Türkiye to Uzbekistan. As part of the project, CJ ICM handled over 9,500 tonnes of heavy lift and out-of-gauge (OOG) power plant equipment, including engines weighing up to 300 tonnes each. The scope included dismantling operations, transport to Kazakhstan, a 2,000 km inland journey to Uzbekistan and installation at site.

Denzai

Also making the shortlist is Denzai, which executed a series of heavy lifts at the S-Oil Shaheen project in Ulsan, South Korea. Despite limited space on site, Denzai conducted the heaviest lift executed on the entire project and erected a polypropylene fractionator towering column that measured 70.38 m in height, 8.4 m in diameter, and weighed 937 tonnes. Deploying customised rigging solutions and tandem crane operations, the work was completed with zero lost-time incidents, precise planning, and cost-efficient execution.

Fagioli

Fagioli impressed our judges with the lifting of a 600 m-long, 7,000-tonne viaduct in Austria, raising it by 5.8 m across three phases. It deployed a modular system of 16 gantries and two towers, enhancing stability, alignment, and long-term safety. Custom monitoring and restraint systems addressed tight logistical and environmental constraints. As part of this remarkable feat of engineering, the bridge remained raised for six months under high wind conditions.

Hareket

Garnering praise for its use of 3D technology, Hareket designed and implemented a modular lifting system for handling four heavy housing equipment units used in the production of aluminium. Due to the lack of technical drawings and the cast-steel structure of the loads, Hareket conducted 3D scans to develop precise lifting apparatuses without welding. The new design enabled both lifting and tilting using a hydraulic gantry system, eliminating the need for costly crane operations. The equipment, weighing up to 170 tonnes, was moved across a distance of 80 m.

J M Baxi Heavy

On hand for the Tapti decommissioning project – India’s first offshore decommissioning project – J M Baxi Heavy transferred 10 modules weighing a collective 12,528 tonnes. To do this, it opted to load in and roll off the equipment from barges before onward transport using 78 SPMT axles, three power packs, four prime movers, and 40 ballast pumps. Spanning 75 days, J M Baxi Heavy executed five barge trips, with each trip consisting of one jacket and one topside.

Prism Logistics

With a 1,600 km overland journey and 400 nautical mile shipment of 2,500 tonnes, Prism Logistics transported three VGO reactors within India. Its scope included constructing three modular bridges, more than 50 temporary bypasses, two ro-ro jetties, and managing upwards of 40 railway shutdowns. Within these operations, cranes with capacities of over 1,000 tonnes, more than 120 SPMTs, plus at least 300 hydraulic axles, were used.

Rolf Riedl

Rolf Riedl made it onto this year’s shortlist for its role in the Lithuanian project to disconnect from the Russian-controlled BRELL system and join Europe’s electricity grid – work that demanded engineering precision under extraordinary circumstances. Rolf Riedl re-engineered the entire logistics plan for the transport of a 260-tonne synchronous condenser, including bespoke securing systems, site-specific infrastructure adaptations, and the first-ever disassembly of a rare Ukrainian rail wagon.

Sarens

Sarens highlighted its involvement in the Emile Hammerl bridge replacement project in Bettembourg, Luxembourg. Praised by our judges for the complexity of the project and accuracy demonstrated, Sarens debuted its custom-developed CS250 tilting system. The system ensured limited disruption to overhead railway lines whilst also keeping operational downtime to a minimum.

The winner of this year’s Excellence in Engineering Award will be announced at the Heavy Lift Awards 2025 ceremony on October 22 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. To join the celebrations, book your place today.