$1 Billion investment part of
long-term decarbonization strategy
HONOLULU, Nov. 2, 2022
/PRNewswire/ -- Matson, Inc. ("Matson"; NYSE: MATX) today announced
that its subsidiary, Matson Navigation Company, Inc., a leading
U.S. carrier in the Pacific, has signed contracts with Philly
Shipyard Inc. to build three new 3,600 TEU* Aloha Class
containerships for an aggregate price of approximately $1 billion. The first vessel is expected to be
delivered in the fourth quarter of 2026 with subsequent deliveries
in 2027.
Matson has goals to achieve a 40 percent
reduction in Scope 1 fleet emissions by 2030 and net-zero Scope 1
by 2050.
The new vessels will join two Aloha Class ships previously built
for Matson by Philly Shipyard that entered service in 2018 and
2019, respectively. Like their sisterships, the new vessels will be
equipped with dual fuel engines that are designed to operate on
either conventional marine fuels or liquefied natural gas (LNG), as
well as other "green ship technology" features, such as a
fuel-efficient hull design and environmentally safe double hull
fuel tanks and freshwater ballast systems. While the earlier ships
require some modification to operate with LNG, the new ships will
be delivered LNG-ready.
"Our existing Aloha Class ships are among the fastest, most
efficient vessels in the Matson fleet," said Matt Cox, chairman and chief executive officer.
"These new Jones Act compliant vessels will be built specifically
for our China-Long Beach Express service, and like their
sisterships, are expected to help Matson achieve its 2030
greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal while also providing
additional capacity and speed benefitting our Hawaii service as well as the CLX."
The 854-foot Aloha Class vessels are the largest containerships
ever built in the U.S. and are designed to operate at speeds in
excess of 23 knots in support of Matson's service hallmark – timely
delivery of goods.
Philly Shipyard is a leading U.S. commercial shipyard
constructing vessels for operation in the domestic Jones Act trade
lanes. Prior to Matson's first two Aloha Class ships, the shipyard
delivered four newly built Jones Act containerships for Matson
between 2003 and 2006.
"It is the ultimate compliment when a former customer returns
for another project. We are proud of the six vessels previously
delivered to Matson, and are again ready to execute and deliver
this important project." said Steinar Nerbovik, Philly Shipyard
president and chief executive officer.
The three new Aloha Class ships will replace three vessels
currently deployed in Matson's China-Long Beach Express (CLX)
service, which will in turn replace three older vessels currently
deployed in its Alaska service,
redeploying bigger and faster vessels into that trade lane.
Matson expects to finance the new vessels with cash currently in
the Capital Construction Fund and through cash flows from
operations, borrowings available under the Company's unsecured
revolving credit facility and additional debt financings.
Matson has set corporate goals to achieve a 40 percent reduction
in Scope 1 greenhouse gas (GHG) fleet emissions by 2030 and
net-zero Scope 1 GHG emissions by 2050.
* TEU = 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
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 North America. 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.
Forward-Looking
Statements
Statements in this news release that are not historical facts
are "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including without
limitation those statements regarding vessel delivery dates, fleet
capacity and efficiency, vessel speeds, fleet deployment, future
vessel replacement expectations, financings, decarbonization
strategy, and achievement of greenhouse gas emissions reduction
goals. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statement, including
but not limited to risks and uncertainties relating to the
occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could
give rise to the termination of the vessel construction agreements;
the ability of the shipyard to construct and deliver the Aloha
Class vessels; repeal, substantial amendment or waiver of the Jones
Act or its application, or our failure to maintain our status as a
United States citizen under the
Jones Act; changes in economic conditions or governmental policies,
including from the COVID-19 pandemic; fuel prices, our ability to
collect fuel related surcharges and/or the cost or limited
availability of required fuels; evolving stakeholder expectations
related to environmental, social and governance matters; timely or
successful completion of fleet upgrade initiatives; the occurrence
of poor weather, natural disasters, maritime accidents, spill
events and other physical and operating risks, including those
arising from climate change; transitional and other risks arising
from climate change; the magnitude and timing of the impact of
public health crises, including COVID-19; war, terrorist attacks or
other acts of violence; loss of key personnel or failure to
adequately manage human capital; changes in our credit profile and
our future financial performance; our ability to obtain future debt
financings; continuation of the Title XI and CCF programs; costs to
comply with and liability related to numerous safety,
environmental, and other laws and regulations; and disputes, legal
and other proceedings and government inquiries or investigations.
These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance. This release should be read in conjunction with our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and our other filings with the
SEC through the date of this release, which identify important
factors that could affect the forward-looking statements in this
release. We do not undertake any obligation to update our
forward-looking statements.
Investor Relations
inquiries:
Lee Fishman
Matson, Inc.
510.628.4227
lfishman@matson.com
|
News Media
inquiries:
Keoni Wagner
Matson, Inc.
510.628.4534
kwagner@matson.com
|
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SOURCE MATSON, INC. - PR