HONOLULU, Dec. 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Matson, Inc.
(NYSE: MATX), a leading U.S. carrier in the
Pacific, today took delivery of Matsonia, the second of
two new Kanaloa Class combination container / roll-on, roll-off
("con-ro") ships built for Matson by General Dynamics NASSCO.
The two are the largest vessels of their kind ever built in the
U.S. They join two new containerships, Daniel K Inouye
and Kaimana Hila, themselves
the largest of their kind in the U.S. commercial fleet, in
completing the renewal of Matson's Hawaii fleet.
Matsonia and Lurline are each 870 feet long,
114 feet wide (beam), with a deep draft of 38 feet and weighing in
at over 50,000 metric tons. The sister ships have an enclosed
garage with room for approximately 500 vehicles, plus ample space
for rolling stock and breakbulk cargo. Lurline entered
service in January of this year.
Built by Philly Shipyard, Matson's new Aloha Class
containerships, Daniel K.
Inouye and Kaimana
Hila, entered service in 2018 and 2019,
respectively. Each 850-foot long containership has a 3,600
twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) capacity.
The four new ships are the centerpiece of Matson's nearly
$1 billion investment to modernize
its Hawaii service. In
addition to a nearly $930 million
investment in its fleet, Matson is also investing more than
$60 million in improvements to its
Hawaii hub terminal at Sand Island
in Honolulu, in conjunction with
the State of Hawaii's Harbors
Modernization plan.
"Putting four new ships into service in a three-year span is a
significant accomplishment that culminates eight years of planning,
project management and coordination for teams across many
departments at Matson," said Matt
Cox, chairman and chief executive officer. "Together with
the modernization and expansion of our Honolulu terminal, these investments position
Matson to provide efficient, reliable service to Hawaii for decades to come."
Phase 1 of Matson's Sand Island Terminal Modernization project
was completed this year, with the installation of three new
electrically powered gantry cranes and the upgrading of three
existing cranes and the terminal's power system. Phase 2, which
will include improvements to the container yard and gate, will
begin in 2021. In Phase 3, concurrent with the State's completion
of the new Kapalama Container Terminal, Matson will expand its
waterfront and overall terminal footprint by 30 percent by
acquiring adjacent piers 51A and B.
In addition to ensuring efficient, reliable service to
Hawaii for the next three decades,
Matson's fleet renewal program is also accomplishing a broader
fleet modernization that ensures compliance with increasingly
stringent global emissions regulations.
Designed and built specifically for the Hawaii trade, all four of the new ships
feature state-of-the-art green technology, including fuel-efficient
hull design, environmentally safe double hull fuel tanks, Liquid
Natural Gas (LNG) compatible engines, and freshwater ballast
systems. The more recent Kanaloa Class vessels are equipped
with the first Tier 3 dual-fuel engines to be deployed in
containerships regularly serving West Coast ports. Tier 3 engines
reduce the levels of particulate emissions by 40 percent and
nitrogen oxide emissions by 20 percent, as compared to Tier 2
standards.
The four new ships are also Matson's fastest vessels, with the
ability to operate at or above 23 knots, helping ensure on-time
deliveries in Hawaii from Matson's
three West Coast terminals in Tacoma, Oakland and Long
Beach.
'Matsonia' and 'Lurline' are iconic vessel names
in Matson's long history. Matsonia dates to the
construction of Matson's first ship of that name in 1912. Three
more ships were given the name in subsequent years; the new vessel
is the fifth. 'Lurline' dates to the construction of Captain
William Matson's first ship of that
name in 1887. Four more ships were given the name in subsequent
years; the newest vessel is the sixth.
Daniel K. Inouye was
named in honor of the late Hawaii
Senator, who was a strong supporter of the U.S. Merchant Marine and
a powerful advocate of the maritime industry. "Kaimana Hila" is a Hawaiian transliteration for
"Diamond Head," one
of Hawaii's most iconic landmarks.
More information on Matsonia and Matson's fleet
modernization program is available
at: https://www.matson.com/kanaloa-class.html
* Twenty-foot Equivalent Units, the standard unit of measurement
for container capacity
About Matson
Founded in 1882, Matson (NYSE: MATX) is a leading provider of
ocean transportation and logistics services. Matson provides
a vital lifeline to the domestic non-contiguous economies of
Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam, and to other island economies in
Micronesia. Matson also operates two premium, expedited
services from China to
Long Beach, California, provides
service to Okinawa, Japan and
various islands in the South Pacific, and operates an international
export service from Dutch Harbor
to Asia. The Company's fleet of owned and 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, freight consolidation, Asia supply chain services, and forwarding to
Alaska. Additional information about the Company is available
at www.matson.com.
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SOURCE Matson, Inc.