b'10American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(CHANGEcontinued from page 6) AJOT:AALsnewbuildorderofseemtoremainsustainablewithordersGrammare: The sector where we are methanol ready, and their hull and propul- eight Super B-class vessels would sug- beingmadebyexistingowners/opera- seeing the most growth is around green sion have been designed to reduce vesselgest the company is bullish on the futuretors towards the renewal of their fleet inpowergenerationnotonlywindtur-consumption and emissions to a minimum. oftheglobalheavylift/projectcargosimilar fashion to what AAL [has done].bines but also solar projects that requireAnunobstructeddeckwithallcranesmarket. Yes? Itisveryhardtoreallypredictwhichpower-relatedinfrastructure,innovative andfunnelpositionedonthePortsideGrammare: Generally speaking, weway the market will go, but history hasprojectsaroundhydrogengeneration enablestheloadingofextremelylongconsider ourselves as quite conservativetaught us to air on the side of caution.and usage, as well as any type of power cargoes.Thisiscomplementedbyawhenitcomestomarketdemand.WeWhat is sure though is that project cargoesgeneration in general. Nevertheless, the major design innovation, the AAL ECO- all know markets can turn very quickly,are getting heavier and more complex andproject industry moves in cycles, and we DECK, which has been created by ourespeciallywiththecurrentgeopoliticalthe bar is getting higher on what makescan also expect mining and oil and gas in-houseengineersandusesthetween- instability and therefore we are not bank- a premium heavy lift carrier, which hasprojects to come back as soon as finance deck pontoons to extend the deck surfaceingheavilyonabullishfuturemarket.required some investment from our sidebecomes more affordable.area to the Starboard side. These designToday, our fleet totals 29 vessels with theto ensure we can continue servicing thisAJOT: Wind energy components are enhancements combined allow an unob- majority having reached a mid-life point,market to todays standards. growinginsizeandweighteachyear, structed deck space of over 5,000 squareand the order of eight Super B-Class ves- AJOT: How do ongoing global supplydoes this provide a challenge from a proj-metres, which takes us in the deck car- sels is both an investment in the future inchaindisruptionsaltertheprocessofect cargo perspective? rier surface range and makes the vesselterms of fleet capability and sustainabil- delivering high-value project cargo? Grammare:Theincreasingsize deck loading extremely versatile. ity, as well as a move towards the renewalGrammare: Whilst we at AAL haveofwindturbinecomponents(especiallyThe vessel holds have also been enhanced,of the existing fleet. triedtomitigatetheimpactsofthesewhenmovingtowardsoffshorecom-movingawayfromthetraditionalMPPAJOT:Various public reports haveglobal events, it is clear that they haveponents) is a challengethe number of designswithfourtofiveholdsonthisstatedmanydifferentthingsabouttheimpacted the efficiency and cost of ship- vessels able to load this equipment effi-vessel size towards two holds to prioritizefutureoftheheavylift-projectcargoping services. The rather sudden inabil- ciently and transport a sufficient number open areas in both length and width withmarket. Where does the truth lie? itytosailsafelythroughtheRedSeaof units to make it affordable is limited. the removal of center line bulkheads fromGrammare: I believe the only reliablehascausedmajordisruptionsintermsThis is one of the aspects where the Super the design. This not only allows the Supertruth is the current global instability, andofvesseltiming,whicharebeingfeltB-Class design comes into action, offer-B-Class to load cargoes up to 68 m longthe increased risk for unpredictable eventsafewmonthslater;voyagedurationsingsustainableandaffordablesolutions and 25 m wide under deck, but this alsoCOVID-19,thePanamadrought,have been extended by 10 to 30 days onfor the industry of the future.allows the vessel to participate in the car- Ukraine War, the actions of Houthi rebelssome routes. Carriers have been unableAJOT:WhatdoesAALscommit-riage of bulk parcels on backhauls, makingintheRedSea,asexamples.Theseto absorb this increase of sailing costsment to methanol-ready ships say about sure that every leg of the voyage is usedeventsall reasonably independent fromand freight charges had to be increased tothe prospect of reduced carbon emissions to transport cargo and therefore ultimatelyeach otherhave all had a huge impactmaintain the sustainability of the services.andsustainabilityacrossthemarine reduce emissions per ton of cargo carriedon supply and demand in the heavy lift,Most project owners and charterers havecargo industry?by avoiding ballast legs. project cargo market. been very understanding of the situationGrammare: The need for a reduc-AnotherdesignenhancementistheNextyear,AALwillcommemo- asforhighvalueprojectcargoes,safetion in carbon emissions in the shipping three350-metric-tonnecapacitycranes.rate 30 years of service, and we can saytransportationisparamountifcriticalindustry is real and has some hard mile-This enables AAL to load heavy projectthatexperiencehastaughtusthatweequipment was to be damaged, the pos- stonescomingupin2030andbeyond. cargoes all over the vessel and not onlyalways need to be prepared for changesibleimpactandconsequentialcostsofThemethanolreadinessofourSuper in one hold, making the vessels uniquein market conditions. One of our focusesthe whole project being delayed are wayB-Class is a must in todays environment in their ability to load large quantities ofis to remain agile and adapt our offer tobeyondthelimitedincreaseinfreightand will allow us to reduce emissions as heavy units. market demand. charges required to ensure cargo is carriedbiofuels become readily available aroundThe final two vessels out of the Yard,Projectcancellationsordelaysaresafely around the Cape of Good Hope. the globe. The main strength of the Super theAALNEWCASTLEandAALnot a new thing, the road to a successfulAJOT: What industry will provide aB-Classremainsanimprovedhulland MUMBAI, will each feature an increasedprojectisalonganddifficultone,andlarge portion of project cargo business inpropulsiondesign,whichisalready lifting capacity of 800 metric tonnes. newbuildings in the premium MPP sectorthe next 10 years? greatly improving emissions.'