Best Maritime Transport

AAL Shipping’s Super B Class vessel AAL Hamburg has set a new industry benchmark with one of the most complex transport engineering operations ever completed. In November 2025, the vessel transported 16 large commodity barges – each up to 61 m long and weighing 400 t – in a single voyage from Brazil to Uruguay. The barges were stacked in a four tier transverse formation with a 15 m overhang on each side, made possible by AAL’s innovative ECO DECK system, which expanded the weather deck to 34.8 m.

The project required extensive engineering collaboration and utilised the vessel’s 700 tonne tandem lifting capability, allowing fully self sustained loading and discharge. Throughout the 3,400 km voyage, AAL’s Performance Optimisation Control Room monitored conditions in real time, minimising vessel motion, improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions.

The successful completion of this first voyage established a repeatable model for AAL’s year long programme to transport 80 barges for LHG Mining, demonstrating AAL’s ability to deliver pioneering, scalable ocean transport solutions.

AAL’s next generation Super B Class fleet, feature methanol ready dual fuel systems, higher lifting capacities and superior cargo intake; underpining AAL’s role in delivering major global industrial and renewable projects.

AtoB@C Shipping’s cooperation with Enercon demonstrates how innovative vessel design, efficient execution and sustainability-driven decision-making can support complex wind energy logistics. Enercon has time-chartered one of AtoB@C Shipping’s Green Coaster hybrid vessels for the transport of wind turbine components, and the vessel’s low emissions profile and AtoB@C Shipping’s Ecovadis Gold rating were key decision factors.

The Green Coaster concept integrates hybrid battery technology, shore power connectivity and optimized hull dimensions, achieving up to a 50% reduction in CO₂ emissions per cargo ton.

Operational efficiency is enhanced through a flexible vessel design. With the bridge positioned at the fore, large and high project cargo such as wind turbine blades can be loaded without restrictions, including cargo extending over the aft. An unobstructed deck and spacious cargo hold maximise utilisation while maintaining high safety standards, supported by a zero lost‑time injury record in 2024.

Through transparent emissions data, renewable fuel options and measurable ESG alignment, AtoB@C Shipping directly supports Enercon’s sustainability objectives while ensuring reliable, safe and responsible maritime transport.

Malin Abram supported Ross-shire Engineering (RSE) in the successful delivery of a complex marine transportation campaign for the Eela Water Treatment Works upgrade in Shetland. The project involved transporting 42 TTUs and associated project cargo from Invergordon to the Sullom Voe Oil Terminal, before onward road transport to the remote project site near Ollaberry.

Recognising the logistical complexity of delivering large modular infrastructure to one of the UK’s most remote locations, Malin Abram engaged with RSE eight months before the planned operation. Early involvement enabled the development of an optimised marine transport strategy during the project’s conceptual and FEED stages, ensuring vessel selection, cargo configuration and operational planning aligned with technical, environmental and programme requirements.

Malin Abram delivered a full suite of marine engineering and project management services, including stowage and securing plans, seafastening design, marine procedures, risk assessments, vessel chartering and marine superintendence. The load-out in Invergordon was completed during a continuous 48-hour campaign, followed by a 48-hour sea transit and a 36-hour discharge operation.

Through early engagement and detailed planning, the campaign was executed safely, on schedule and within budget, while minimising operational risk, vessel idle time and the overall carbon footprint of the marine transport phase.

This project involved the execution of an extremely complex, high-risk multimodal transportation of six oversized coke drums from ISGEC Jetty to Vadinar Jetty, followed by inland delivery to Nayara Refinery. Each unit measured 43m x 11m x 11m and weighed 665 MT, with a cumulative cargo weight approaching 4,000 MT and a total handled volume of 31,218 FRT. The movement covered ~600 nautical miles by sea and ~200 km by road under tightly controlled timelines.

The operation was driven by extensive pre-engineering, including bathymetric surveys, hydrodynamic analysis, CAD-based load simulations, SALSA, lashing design, and multi-stage stability calculations to validate barge behavior under variable tidal and load conditions. Over 200 axle lines in a 20+20 configuration, supported by 80+ SPMTs and 500 HP pullers, were deployed for land mobilization, requiring major infrastructure interventions across HT line corridors and weak road sections.

Custom-engineered temporary jetties and Ro-Ro interfaces enabled loadout onto 300-class barges within narrow tidal windows. Mid-voyage, severe cyclonic conditions induced critical barge instability with heel up to 45 degrees, demanding emergency response through 60 BP tug deployment and controlled counter-ballasting.

Subsequent discharge and inland transit required bridge strengthening, route engineering, and live traffic management.

UTC Overseas executed a complex eight-month operation to transport massive LPG tanks along Poland’s Vistula River under extreme conditions. The tanks, each 80 meters long and weighing 465 tons, were loaded onto barges in Gdynia and prepared with custom supports for transport to Płock. However, delays pushed the schedule into a period of historically low water levels, creating severe navigational challenges, including reduced depth and hazardous sandbars that slowed progress and threatened the feasibility of the journey.

To overcome these constraints, UTC engineers implemented innovative solutions. They designed and installed buoyancy tanks along the barges to reduce draft, enabling navigation in shallow waters. Additional measures included deflection shields for underwater hazards and specialized supports to evenly distribute weight and maintain stability. When bridge clearances became an issue, the team ingeniously rotated the tanks onto their sides during transit, avoiding structural modifications.

Lock passages required rapid removal of buoyancy tanks, a process carefully planned for efficiency under tight spatial and time constraints. Upon arrival in Płock, the tanks were offloaded, transported by road, and installed at the refinery site.

Despite unprecedented environmental and logistical challenges, UTC demonstrated exceptional engineering adaptability, ensuring a safe and successful delivery.