Shipyard starts building first of 3 new Matson ships

COURTESY MATSON INC.
Matson announced Monday that steel plates were cut for its three new ships at Philly Shipyard in Pennsylvania after a small ceremony. Workers view steel plates being cut using a plasma cutter at a warehouse.

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COURTESY MATSON INC.

Matson announced Monday that steel plates were cut for its three new ships at Philly Shipyard in Pennsylvania after a small ceremony. Workers view steel plates being cut using a plasma cutter at a warehouse.

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COURTESY MATSON INC.

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COURTESY MATSON INC.

Representing an investment of approximately $1 billion, three new ships will be built to match the size and speed of Matson’s two existing “Aloha Class” ships, the Daniel K. Inouye and Kaimana Hila, which were also built by Philly Shipyard and entered service in 2018 and 2019, respectively, as the largest containerships ever constructed in the U.S.

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Construction has begun on the first of three new ships for Hawaii-based ocean cargo transportation firm Matson Inc.

The company Monday announced that steel plates were cut for the ship at Philly Shipyard in Pennsylvania after a small ceremony.

Matson signed contracts in late 2022 to buy the three ships for about $1 billion. The first ship is slated to be ready for service in late 2026, followed by the other two in 2027.

The three new ships — named Makua, Malama and Makena — are based on the size and design of two ships the company received from Philly Shipyard in 2018 and 2019.

This “Aloha Class” of ships are the largest containerships ever built in the U.S., according to Matson. The vessels are 854 feet long and have a capacity to carry the equivalent of 3,600 20-foot containers. They are also designed to run on liquefied natural gas instead of conventional oil-based fuels, and operate at speeds that exceed 23 knots and are faster than older classes of Matson ships.

“Our existing Aloha Class ships are among the fastest, most efficient vessels in the Matson fleet,” Matt Cox, company chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

The three new ships also are expected to help Matson achieve a goal to reduce greenhouse emissions by 2030, though some environmentalists say LNG-powered containerships have a mix of positive and negative impacts on greenhouse gas emissions.

Matson’s three new ships are being built in the United States to comply with the federal Jones Act, which requires that vessels transporting cargo between two U.S. ports are U.S.-owned, U.S.-built and U.S.-crewed.

Matson said the new ships are designed for its Hawaii and China-Long Beach Express services, and will replace three older ships currently deployed on those routes.

Philly Shipyard has previously built six ships for Matson, including the two prior “Aloha Class” vessels and four others between 2003 and 2006.

“Today we celebrate not only the beginning of production, but also the return of Matson to Philly Shipyard for our third project together,” Steinar Nerbovik, Philly Shipyard president and CEO, said in a statement.

As is common with operators of ship fleets, Matson’s three planned new ships reuse names of former ships. The original Makua, Malama and Makena ships were freighters commissioned by the U.S. Shipping Board to produce U.S. support ships during World War I. Matson, which was founded in 1882, purchased those freighters in the 1920s, and they remained active in the company’s fleet for two decades, according to Matson.