Construction has begun on three new cargo ships for Hawaii-based transportation firm Matson Inc., at a contracted cost of about $1 billion — spent within the U.S., as required by the Jones Act. The ships — Makua, Malama and Makena, at 854 feet long — are in the “Aloha Class” of containerships, the largest built in the U.S.

The advantages to Matson, and Hawaii? Shipping between the firm’s ports of call in Hawaii and Long Beach, Calif., will be faster, less expensive and, because they run on liquefied natural gas, less polluting than older ships using oil-based fuel.