Matson begins production on new "Kanaloa Class" ships for Hawaii
Matson, Inc., a leading U.S. carrier in the Pacific, today announced the start of production on two new combination container and roll-on/roll-off ("Con-Ro") vessels for its Hawaii fleet that are scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2019 and second quarter of 2020, respectively. After a small ceremony at General Dynamics NASSCO's shipyard in San Diego, the cutting of steel plates began, initiating the construction work to build both ships, the company said in its press release.
Matson is calling these vessels the "Kanaloa Class" in honor of the ocean deity revered in the native Hawaiian culture and will name each of the new vessels after predecessor ships from its 135-year history. The first vessel will be named Lurline, the sixth Matson vessel to carry that name, while the second vessel will be its fifth named Matsonia.
The Kanaloa Class vessels are being built on a 3,500 TEU vessel platform, which is 870 feet long, 114 feet wide (beam), with a deep draft of 38 feet and enclosed garage space for up to 800 vehicles or breakbulk cargo. In addition, the new vessels will have state-of-the-art green technology features, including a fuel efficient hull design, environmentally safe double hull fuel tanks, fresh water ballast systems and dual-fuel engines, meaning that they will be able to operate at speeds up to 23 knots on either conventional fuel oils or liquefied natural gas ("LNG") with some adaptation for LNG. These advancements are important to Hawaii as a means to reduce fuel consumption, and will result in significant emissions reductions over time.
About Matson
Founded in 1882, Matson is a leading U.S. carrier in the Pacific. Matson provides a vital lifeline to the economies of Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and select South Pacific islands, and operates a premium, expedited service from China to Southern California. Matson's fleet of 22 owned vessels and five chartered vessels includes containerships, combination container and roll-on/roll-off ships and custom-designed barges. Matson Logistics, established in 1987, extends the geographic reach of Matson's transportation network throughout the continental U.S. Its integrated, asset-light logistics services include rail intermodal, highway brokerage, warehousing, and less-than-container load freight consolidation and forwarding to Alaska.
