How Aeromarine sourced a matched pair of AC-14 High Holding Power anchors from ready stock and delivered them to one of the largest oil tankers in the world.
CLIENT
Euronav, Antwerp
VESSEL
Euronav Oceania (ULCC)
SCOPE
2 × AC-14 HHP anchors
DELIVERED
March 2019
THE CHALLENGE
The Euronav Oceania is not an ordinary ship. At 380 metres, she is a TI-class Ultra Large Crude Carrier built in 2003 — one of the largest oil tankers ever to sail. A vessel like this carries anchors to match: AC-14 High Holding Power anchors of around 21 tonnes each.
She lost both of them.
Replacing anchors of this size is close to impossible at short notice. Only a handful of foundries in the world cast them, and a new order runs to many months of lead time. For a vessel of this value, every day at anchorless standstill is a day it cannot earn. Euronav needed a matched pair, and needed them fast.
WHAT AEROMARINE DID
- Located a matched pair of AC-14 High Holding Power anchors — approximately 21 tonnes each — available from ready stock in India.
- Verified the units against the required specification (AC-14 HHP, unit weights 21,290 kg and 20,220 kg as marked; originally cast by INI Steel Co., Korea).
- Arranged urgent pick-up at Alang and ocean freight from Mundra to Valletta, Malta, coordinating directly with the vessel’s forwarder and Malta agent.
- Managed the documentation and customs paperwork so the anchors moved without delay.
THE OUTCOME
From enquiry to dispatch in days, not months. Two irreplaceable anchors, sourced from stock and shipped halfway across the world, brought one of the largest tankers afloat back to readiness — while a new-build order would still have been waiting in a foundry queue.
WHY IT MATTERS
This is the whole Aeromarine proposition in one job. When the part is nearly impossible to find and the clock is running, stock, sourcing and speed are worth far more than a price list. We do not win by being the cheapest. We win by having the answer ready when it matters most.
The anchors during handling and dispatch — units marked 21290 and 20220:
