Matson Inc. announced this week that its subsidiary, Matson Navigation Company, Inc., has signed contracts worth approximately $1 billion with Philly Shipyard Inc. to build three new liquified natural gas-powered Aloha Class containerships.
Liquified natural gas reduces emissions, and its usage supports the company's stated goal of achieving a "40% reduction in scope 1 greenhouse gas fleet emissions by 2030 and net-zero scope 1 GHG emissions by 2050," according to a release from Matson issued on Wednesday.
The 845-foot Aloha Class ships are the largest containerships ever built in the U.S. and are designed to operate at speeds in excess of 23 knots, according to the company. Philly Shipyard previously built two other Aloha Class vessels for Matson, which entered into service in 2018 and 2019, as previously reported by PBN.
"Our existing Aloha Class ships are among the fastest, most efficient vessels in the Matson fleet," Matt Cox, chairman and CEO of Matson Inc., said in a statement. "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 [China-Long Beach Express service]."
The Jones Act is a federal law that requires shipping between U.S. ports to be conducted by U.S. ships.
Compared to the company's earlier ships, which required modification to use liquified natural gas, these three new ships will be delivered LNG-ready. The new vessels will also have other green technology features, including a fuel-efficient hull design and environmentally safe double hull fuel tanks and freshwater ballast systems, according to the company.
Matson plans to finance the new vessels with cash from the federal Capital Construction Fund, which allows fishermen to construct or acquire fishing vessels with before-tax dollars, as well as with cash flow from operations, borrowings available under its unsecured revolving credit facility, and additional debt financing, according to the shipping company. The three new Aloha Class ships will replace three ships currently deployed in Matson's China-Long Beach Express service, which will in turn replace three older vessels currently deployed in its Alaska service, according to Matson.
The first ship will be delivered toward the end of 2026, while the other two are expected to be delivered in 2027.
