Matson christens 1st new vessel of $1B US shipyard order

Matson christened the containership Makua at Hanwha Philly Shipyard on Oct. 10, marking a milestone in its approximately $1 billion investment in three new vessels for its Hawaii and China–Long Beach Express services.

The ship is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2027.

The 850-foot vessel will have capacity for 3,600 twenty-foot equivalent units and a top speed of nearly 24 knots. Matson (NYSE: MATX ) said the three new Aloha Class ships will replace vessels currently deployed in the two services while increasing capacity and improving operating efficiency and reliability.

Matson board member Jenai Wall christened Makua by breaking a ceremonial bottle of champagne against its hull. Approximately 300 people attended, including shipyard workers, union leaders, company executives and U.S. Maritime Administration Deputy Administrator Mark Johnson. U.S. Transportation Command Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Jered P. Helwig was among the speakers.

“We look forward to putting Makua to work serving our customers early next year,” Matson Chairman and Chief Executive Matt Cox said in the company’s announcement. “We’re excited that adding three new Aloha Class ships to Matson’s fleet over the next 18 months will improve operating efficiencies and reliability, and increase capacity in our core Hawaii service, as well as our China-Long Beach Express service.”

The second ship is scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2027, followed by the third in the second quarter of 2028. Matson plans to name the remaining vessels Malama and Makena. All three will be Jones Act-compliant.

The new ships will match the size and speed of Matson’s existing Aloha Class vessels, Daniel K. Inouye and Kaimana Hila, which entered service in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Those vessels were also built at the Philadelphia yard.

Makua and its sister ships will have dual-fuel engines designed to operate on conventional marine fuels or liquefied natural gas. Matson said the new vessels will be delivered LNG-ready, unlike the earlier Aloha Class ships, which required modifications to use LNG. Other features include fuel-efficient hull designs, double-hull fuel tanks and freshwater ballast systems.

The order extends a longstanding relationship between Matson and the shipyard, presently owned by Hanwha of South Korea, which delivered four containerships to the carrier between 2003 and 2006 before building its first two Aloha Class vessels.

“Today’s christening of Makua is especially meaningful because Matson has been part of the story of this shipyard from its earliest days,” Hanwha Philly Shipyard CEO David Kim said. “Our partnership spans generations of vessels and reflects a shared commitment to American shipbuilding and the U.S. maritime industry.”

The new vessel also revives a historic Matson name. The original Makua was among three freighters the company purchased in the 1920s that carried the names chosen for the new ships. Makua is a Hawaiian word for parent, elder, ancestor or family, according to Matson.

Read more articles by Stuart Chirls   here .

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