AAL completes deliveries for 500MW renewable energy project that will power more than 300,000 Australian homes

Project cargo specialist AAL Shipping (AAL) has just completed its final sailing to successfully deliver the 500-megawatt Wambo Wind Farm in Queensland, Australia. AAL transported all 83 wind turbines to be employed at the wind farm located near Jandowae. It accomplished this across 18 sailings that employed vessels from its 31,000 dwt A-Class, 25,800 dwt G-Class, and 19,000 dwt S-Class heavy lift fleets.

AAL delivered its cargo in two project Stages between 2023 and 2025. Stage one involved 42 turbines being transported over nine sailings, and this month the ‘AAL Genoa’ successfully completed Stage Two - nine further sailings to deliver the final 41 turbines. The combined sailings required no less than nine different multipurpose heavy lift vessels.

The Wambo Wind Farm is a 50:50 joint venture between Cubico Sustainable Investments, a major investor in the renewable energy sector globally, and Stanwell, a Queensland Government-owned electricity generator.

Shipped components comprised wind turbine towers, blades and other components loaded from multiple upstream ports in China, including Dongzao, Lüsi, Tianjin and Taicang. The cargo was discharged in Brisbane with thousands of nautical miles covered per long-haul voyage.

Each turbine comprised towers split into eight sections, with each weighing up to 90 metric tonnes; wind turbine blades of over 80 metres in length; and other components weighing up to 76 metric tonnes per unit.

“Around 312,000 homes will now be powered by clean energy sources as a direct result of the team’s hard work on this long-term project,” said Frank Mueller, AAL’s General Manager. “Oceania Australia has the potential to generate 82 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030, and I am proud of our work to support the transition and strengthen Australia’s energy security,”

Andrew Mangan, Chartering Manager with AAL Oceania, added: “AAL’s Engineering and Operations teams are very experienced with complex cargoes and are constantly looking for innovative ways to optimise our handling methods. For the wind blade shipments, we employed revolutionary synthetic lashing chains and slings for the first time. Traditional steel chains can swing during lashing and pose a risk of damage to cargo. In contrast, synthetic lashings significantly reduce that risk. They’re also much lighter, improving both the safety and timing efficiency of our lashing operations - especially when gangs are working at heights of over nine metres to secure the uppermost blade tiers.”

Mueller concluded: “As with many projects of this nature, shifting timelines were a challenge. However, we successfully adapted vessel deployments and sailing schedules to meet all changing demands. This flexibility reflects our long-term commitment to increasing both the efficiency and frequency of our regular Asia–Australia sailings - ensuring AAL customers continue to benefit from the region’s most reliable project heavy lift service.”