As AAL Shipping delivers a 560-tonne crane body from Japan to the USA, the company reflects on the resilience of heavy lift logistics amid shifting US trade policies and geopolitical tensions.
AAL Shipping has transported a 560-tonne crane body from Kobe, Japan, to New Orleans, USA aboard its 31,000-dwt heavy lift vessel, AAL Kembla. The crane body, which measured 20.14 m x 15.5 m x 19 m, was transported along with a 60-tonne crane boom and five large grab buckets, each surpassing 100 tonnes. The delivery was for Curtin Maritime, a USA-based marine solutions company.
A barge carrying the components arrived alongside AAL Kembla in Kobe, with each unit’s position carefully planned in keeping with the outreach of the vessel’s 350-tonne capacity cranes. The cranes were deployed in tandem and lifted 302 tonnes and 258 tonnes respectively.
Approaching adverse weather conditions meant that AAL Shipping’s engineering team sped up operations so that potential delays were averted. “Our team’s swift response in modifying the lifting plan was critical to avoiding delays and maintaining safety standards,” said Nicola Pacifico, head of transport engineering at AAL.
“Any cargo operation involving loading or discharge onto barges is very tricky – made even more complex due to the sheer size and weight of the components involved,” Pacifico added. “Multiple stability simulations were conducted to ensure that each stage of the operation would proceed within established safety limits, despite the challenging weight distribution.”
Following the stability simulations, the order of discharge was carefully planned so that there was adequate reserve stability for each heavy lift move.
“Effective communication and flexibility from both sides played a huge role in executing this shipment,” said Henrik Hansen, general manager of AAL Americas, adding that “at multiple stages of this project we had to pivot our plans and develop adjusted solutions.”
Despite change in the USA as Donald Trump returns as president, AAL has – so far – seen little immediate impact on neither imports nor exports of heavy cargo in the country, due to how far in advance most shipments are made.
“The re-election of President Trump, his proposed tariffs, and the impact this has on geopolitical relations – notably US-China relations – will naturally be considered,” said John Pittalis, head of marketing and communications at AAL. “However, it’s important to note that trade tensions and geopolitical shifts are not new challenges – they were present during previous administrations and were further compounded by the disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
As in many other industries, AAL and those within the shipping industry have already implemented supply chain diversification policies – such as the adoption of China-plus-one strategies – because of recent geopolitical ongoings.
The relative weakness of Japan’s currency, the Japanese Yen, is something which “makes Japanese products more attractive to overseas buyers and could lead to an increase in activity ex-Japan”, according to Pittalis. Heavy lift equipment, such as cranes, large gas turbines and generators, have been commonplace exported from Japan, and AAL expects a continuation of that this year.
“Domestically, Japan’s goal to scale up wind power generation is certainly a market to keep a close eye on,” Pittalis added. The country is currently aiming for wind energy to make up 5 percent of its energy production by 2030 – up from 0.9 percent in 2024 – so many new wind projects are being both proposed and developed. Japan intends to generate 10 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, growing to between 30-45 GW by 2040.
Earlier this month, HLPFI reported that AAL’s services in Australia had been impacted by industrial action in the country.
