Multipurpose carrier AAL Shipping has completed one of its most complex engineering operations to date, transporting 16 barges with a combined volume of 80,000 freight tons on a single sailing from Brazil to Uruguay.
The barges, which will support local mining operations by harnessing inland waterways to transport iron and manganese ore from Brazil to Uruguay for export, were moved on AAL Hamburg, one of the carrier’s 32,000 dwt Super-B class vessels.
Each barge measured 61 m in length, 15 m in width, and weighed 380-400 tonnes. They were loaded and stacked over several days in a transverse four-tier formation with a 15-m overhang on each side of AAL Hamburg. The vessel’s retractable deck-extension system proved invaluable to this operation.
“The significant cargo overhang on both the starboard and port sides created major stability challenges along the 3,400 km ocean passage between Northern Brazil and Uruguay. We spent many weeks developing a safe and efficient solution to meet the client’s objectives – and delivered it through, forward thinking engineering, and close collaboration between AAL and the wider supply-chain,” said Yahaya Sanusi, deputy head of AAL Engineering.
Eugene Nutovych, senior chartering manager at AAL Americas, added: “The production of high-grade iron and manganese ores is of huge commercial importance to the region – supporting the local economy and creating jobs. These barges will not only increase transport capacity in support of production but also help shift commodity transport from roads to a cleaner and much more efficient waterway solution.”
AAL said the voyage marks the first stage of establishing a regular presence in South America.
Last month, HLPFI reported that AAL had transported three LNG plant modules from Hai Phong, Vietnam, to British Columbia, Canada.
