AAL Shipping has expanded its fleet of owned vessels with the delivery of AAL Gunsan and AAL Geelong.
The ships – formerly BBC America and BBC Valparaiso, respectively – are the last of four 25,800 dwt multipurpose, heavy lift vessels to be added to AAL’s roster as part of a deal penned back in 2021. These sisterships join AAL’s G-class of vessels.
During the summer, AAL’s owned fleet was further boosted with the acquisition of AAL Moon – a 33,000 dwt vessel built in 2010. The W-class had been under AAL’s commercial management since 2017.
Kyriacos Panayides, AAL’s ceo, explained: “These acquisitions are perfectly in line with our continued fleet strategy to employ large multipurpose vessels which, through their significant cargo intake volumes, offer our shippers greater economies of scale on every sailing.
“They also expand our multipurpose operating fleet to 864,800 dwt, of which 90 percent is now fully controlled by AAL/Schoeller Holdings Group. This authority that AAL has over its operating fleet is important to the long-term sustainable expansion and deployment of our vessels; the strengthening of our global service model; and the frequency and flexibility demanded by our diverse global customer base. The vessels are being positioned across the world, in service of our monthly liner, regular trade lane, and tramp chartering operations.”
