• 30 Aug 2016

Matson Inc.’s subsidiary, Matson Navigation Company Inc., has signed a contract with General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, to build two new combination container and roll-on/roll-off (ConRo) vessels for its Hawaii fleet. The contract is valued at US$511 million for both vessels with deliveries scheduled for the end of 2019 and mid-year 2020. The Kanaloa Class vessels, which have been named Lurline and Matsonia, 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 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. The vessels will replace three diesel powered vessels in active service, which will be moved to reserve status.