Month: June 2015

Nominees were shortlisted, the industry voted and yesterday it was announced that AAL had won, for a second year running, the title of ‘Best Shipping Line – Project Cargo’ at The 2015 AFLAS Awards. Organised by freight and logistics publication, ‘Asia Cargo News’, the Awards honor organisations for demonstrating leadership as well as consistency in service quality, innovation, customer relationship management and reliability.

The ceremony was held in Hong Kong on Wednesday June 24, at ‘sky100’ – the highest indoor viewing deck in Hong Kong’s highest building, the International Commerce Centre. This major industry event was attended by the leading figures in Asia’s freight, logistics and supply chain industries. Other nominees in our category included Rickmers Linie and Sarjak Container Lines.

Our Managing Director Kyriacos Panayides, commented, ‘It is extremely satisfying to receive industry recognition for our hard work! We congratulate all our global land and sea-based teams and our partners for contributing to and sharing in this award.’

He added, ‘We thank AFLAS and their esteemed judges for the award and congratulate all the other award winners and nominees on the night.’

http://www.asiacargonews.com/en/news/detail?id=248

Since 2011, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has officially celebrated the International Day of the Seafarer on 25 June in order to raise awareness of the vital role played by seafarers around the world. This year the campaign is focusing on promoting careers at sea and encouraging young people to think about the rewards and benefits of a career in the maritime industry. At AAL, we’re very pleased to lend our support to the IMO’s #CareerAtSea campaign and hope that you’ll join us in taking a moment to celebrate the valuable contribution made by seafarers worldwide.

As a global heavy lift, breakbulk and project cargo operator, AAL relies upon the skills, experience and dedication of our highly trained crew and shore side personnel. We have the youngest and most innovative fleet in the multipurpose sector and it is extremely important for our business and for our customers that we continue to invest in recruiting and training the highest quality of seafarers and ensuring that they are able to reap all of the rewards of a career at sea. It is not an easy job, but for those willing to work hard and commit themselves to continuous education and training, those with an interest in the world and a thirst for travel, it is effort well spent.

At AAL we are fortunate to have access to fantastic training and crew management through our sister company Columbia Shipmanagement who provide comprehensive cadet training programmes on board our vessels AAL Brisbane and AAL Kembla. Each vessel is equipped with a classroom and usually accommodates eight cadets from across the world, in addition to the regular crew. The cadets’ daily activities and training in navigation techniques are monitored and supervised by a Company Training Master, all of who have served Columbia Shipmanagement for more than 20 years and are now dedicated entirely to training new personnel.

As with previous years, the IMO is encouraging everyone to lend their support and get involved through their social media campaign #CareerAtSea. Personnel across the maritime industry can share inspiring photos of their day on the IMO’s photo wall to show young people how diverse and fulfilling careers in the maritime industry can be, or post a message on their social media platforms. You can learn more about the Day of the Seafarer and how to show your support here.

Feel free to check out our Twitter page or add us on Facebook and join the conversation.

AAL & Kuehne + Nagel recently teamed-up to ship heavy & oversized steel equipment from Shanghai to Everett (US West Coast).
‘Click’ on the image below to WATCH the video of this project.
[video_lightbox_youtube video_id=”y7FyIfcOxKQ” width=”1024″ height=”768″ auto_thumb=”1″]

AAL has expanded the ‘Pacific Service’ route to include the British Columbia Port of Prince Rupert. Our inaugural sailing into the Canadian port on May 10 2015 featured the AAL Brisbane, with a cargo of process units for a major new oil sands project in Alberta.

The Port, with its newly established road and rail links, has emerged as an important new gateway for project cargo imports to the oil-rich mining area of Alberta, Canada, and the wider Pacific North West. Our monthly Pacific Service will now be making regular, scheduled calls at the Port, placing AAL in a strong position to best serve major mining, energy and other projects in the region.

Felix Schoeller, General Manager of our Pacific Service, commented: “This expansion provides our oil & gas customers with far greater access to Northern Alberta mining projects. By expanding this liner route and port network across the Pacific North West, we multiply our customers’ options and choice – ultimately impacting on the efficiency, delivery and overall competitiveness of their projects.”