AAL Plans Fleet Expansion

zoom Singapore-headquartered breakbulk, project cargo and heavy lift shipping operator AAL plans to increase the size of its fleet to over 500,000 dwt in 2015 to meet the growing demand, the company said in a release. As a result of the companys growth from an Austral-Asian carrier to a global operator through the expansion of its fleet, the company has recently rebranded its global operation from Austral Asia Line to AAL. AAL’s fleet currently comprises 14 owned multipurpose vessels ten 31,000 dwt A-Class and four 19,000 dwt S-Class vessels – each with a combined heavy lift capability of 700 tons. It also employs third party tonnage on long term charter, as well as further vessels on single voyage charter. Despite the challenges we all face in today’s shipping industry, AAL has continued to realise strong growth and performance, said Kyriacos Panayides, Managing Director, AAL. This growth has been largely achieved by managing our operational costs, maximising efficiencies within our fleet and expanding into new markets.