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AAL Shipping Marks 10-year Anniversary

[ May 23, 2024   //   ]

Project heavy-lift carrier AAL Shipping in April celebrated the 10-year anniversary of AAL Americas, its Houston-based unit, which provides services in the Pacific trade to and from Asia, and transatlantic services to Europe and the Middle East.
AAL Americas, which has moved its headquarters to Woodlands, Texas, has carved a niche for itself and high level of trust with a disparate customer base, serving long-haul and industrial projects around the world, combined with a unique fleet of mega-size heavy lift tonnage, the company said.
“Having local representation enables direct communication with clients and vendors within the same time zone and that is essential for running an operation where time and dependability is of the essence,” said Henrik Hansen, General Manager of AAL Americas. “Over the past decade and in response to China’s historically strong hold on critical materials supply required for renewable energy, zero-emissions vehicles and clean tech, the U.S. has sought to build wider and more robust international supply chains and deepen its economic ties with more diverse import and export partners worldwide. With geo-politics strongly at the fore, beneficiaries of this US trade strategy have included South-East Asian markets like Vietnam or Thailand and the European market.”
AAL’s operations in the region have reflected a strong growth in recent years in the manufacturing of industrial project components from Vietnam. Thailand has also become an important and growing candidate as well as the Middle East and India. With a continuous and increasing demand for power generation, related industrial projects serve as a strong candidate for MPP deployment such as the construction of new LNG facilities in the U.S. Gulf.
Sustainability, driven by a vocal U.S. green lobby, has also boosted the renewable sector with wind energy, solar and most recently hydro power coming more to the fore. Investment in U.S. wind energy has increased dramatically over the past 10 years, with wind energy investment increasing 49 percent from 2018 to 2022, outpacing all other kinds of energy generation except solar.
“In 2023, due to inflation, higher financing costs, and supply-chain kinks, actual U.S. onshore installations reduced to only 6.4 gigawatts, yet the prospects for wind energy remain strong due to increased tax credits and growing demand,” Hansen said. “Turbine orders increased by 130 percent last year to about 17 GW, with 80 percent coming in 2025 or later. In 2024, about 7 GW of wind power will be added. At the same time, wind turbines OEMs have taken advantage of the US inflation act to invest in domestic wind manufacturing facilities.”
U.S. oil output is also projected to hit record highs in 2024 and 2025. According to a recent energy projection by the Energy Information Administration, average U.S. oil output will increase to 13.2 million barrels a day in 2024, rising to 13.4 million barrels a day in 2025 – surpassing pre Covid-19 levels.
North America will see 558 new oil and gas projects commence operations between 2024 and 2028 across the value chain. Of these, 74 will be upstream projects and 263 will be midstream with refinery and petrochemicals at 102 and 119, respectively, AAL said.
“We have successfully managed to adapt to any changes in cargo types and flows and to meet the ever-changing requirements of our clients from any major port whether in North Asia, Southeast Asia, or Middle East. Operating in an industry which represents new challenges, often unexpected, on a regular basis, we treasure relationships and direct interaction with clients and vendors,” Hansen said.
With a local team that comprises chartering and commercial experts, highly qualified engineers, and resolute operations personnel, we will continue to provide a 360-degree service and focus on maintaining and building these local relationships,” Hansen said.
AAL’s newbuilding Super B-Class fleet, with one of the ships bearing the AAL Houston name, “will allow us to cope with an even greater cargo volume and meet a much wider industrial project and customer demand. The additional tonnage will also allow us to strengthen our position in regions like Central and South America. South America’s East Coast particularly, with huge markets like Brazil and Argentina, offers great opportunity for infrastructure and renewable energy projects expansion.”

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