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AAL Shipping has celebrated the official unveiling and naming of its latest Super B-Class vessel, *AAL Newcastle*, at the CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard in Guangzhou, China. This event marks an important step in the company’s long-term fleet development strategy. During the ceremony, it was also announced that two additional ships of this class, *AAL Tianjin* and *AAL Miami*, will be added to the fleet in early 2028, expanding the class to a total of ten vessels.
Kyriacos Panayides, CEO of AAL Shipping, commented on the new ships: “The *AAL Newcastle* and her sister ships embody our commitment to continuous improvement and customer-focused innovation. The needs of our customers were at the heart of the design. Together with our award-winning engineering and operations teams, the Super B-Class vessels are already conducting industry-leading operations, of which we are very proud.”
Significant Technical Improvements
The vessels are specifically designed for the transport of heavy cargo and complex project loads. The *AAL Newcastle* and the planned *AAL Mumbai*, which is set to be delivered in June 2026, will be equipped with significant technical enhancements that increase lifting capacity and flexibility in transport. Among the most notable innovations is an improved heavy-lift capacity, which raises the individual crane weight capacity from 350 to 400 tons.
Yahaya Sanusi, Deputy Head of the AAL Engineering Department, stated: “As transport requirements evolve, particularly in the offshore renewable energy sector, our fleet must develop accordingly. The increased combined lifting capacity of 800 tons opens up opportunities that were previously beyond the fleet’s reach; longer tower segments can now be safely transported in a single lift, speeding up loading and unloading operations. Every improvement has been tailored to real operational challenges to ensure the performance, safety, and flexibility that our customers expect.”
In addition to the increased crane weight capacity of 400 tons, AAL has made further design refinements to the four new vessels to support faster loading operations and optimize deck usage. The ships will be equipped with a new 26-meter-long lifting beam, which represents an improvement over the 20-meter beams of earlier vessels and facilitates the handling of longer structures. Additional enhancements to the main and auxiliary hooks provide an extra meter of reach, improving the handling of oversized project loads.
