AAL says the service will employ Super B-Class vessels, offering lifting capacity up to 700 tonnes and a clear weather deck space of over 5,000 sq m.
This, says AAL, provides the company with the cargo handling capability and intake capacity to parcel any cargo on any sailing, from outsized heavy lift units to smaller breakbulk, general cargoes and even bulk.
Commenting on the move, Eike Muentz, General Manager of AAL Europe, said:
“We have listened to the market and increased our already popular, premium multipurpose services to support a plethora of customer needs with more tonnage and more connections. Our portfolio of three distinct monthly services provides customers with regular, trusted and flexible sailings between Europe and its key trading markets around the world and benefits from the employment of premium MPVs from every class of AAL’s fleet – including our new Super B-Class, which has already demonstrated its cargo intake credentials by transporting 89,000 freight tons of mixed cargo from Asia to Europe on a single sailing.”
Jan-Henrik Heyken, Senior Chartering Manager at AAL Europe, added:
“The Europe – Asia Express Liner Service will depart key project cargo hubs in Western Europe and connect them directly with Taichung, Shanghai, Masan and other port calls considered on inducement along the route.”