Matson, Inc.  (NYSE: MATX), a leading U.S. carrier in the Pacific, yesterday 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.

Matson Begins Production on New "Kanaloa Class" Ships for Hawaii
Caption: Matson 'Kanaloa Class' vessel - Image courtesy of Matson

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.  

"Construction of these new ships underscores Matson's commitment to serve Hawaii with the largest, most reliable and environmentally friendly vessels for the long-term," said Ron Forest, President.  "The Kanaloa Class is designed specifically to meet Hawaii's freight demands while reducing our environmental impact and improving our efficiency for decades to come."

General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics is a leading U.S. shipyard constructing vessels for the U.S. military and for commercial operation in the Jones Act market.

Source: Matson