AAL has transported two tunnel-boring machines (TBM) from Nansha in south China to Australia on behalf Geodis.
The units had a combined volume of 7,445 cu m and weighed 2,000 tonnes. They were shipped on board AAL Kembla for two separate metro railway projects taking place in Australia.
The larger of the two units, measuring 130 m in length, was transported to Sydney for the Metro City & Southwest project, which involves the construction of 15.5 km railway tunnels under Sydney Harbour. The smaller TBM was transported to Melbourne.
This was the sixth shipment of TBMs, manufactured by Herrenknecht, that AAL has handled in the past eight months on behalf Geodis Hamburg.
Marco Wendt, European chartering manager for AAL, explained: “Each of our six shipments of these enormous TBM units over the past eight months has provided unique challenges. On this occasion we had tight delivery deadlines: a four-day window to discharge the first unit in White Bay, Sydney – which we did directly on to a barge – and then to deliver the second unit to Melbourne by February 28, which we also accomplished.”
