HAWAIIAN LINER COMPETITION HEATS UP

Published Feb 3, 2005 12:01 AM by The Maritime Executive

Pasha Transport will begin transporting autos on March 15, 2005 after winning from Matson a long term contract to ship Chrysler cars to the islands. Now another new competitor, OceanBlue Express, will be joining the mix. The company is registered to Timothy Repp of San Ramon, California, and it is already looking for employees in Hawaii, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Rumors have it that former Matson CEO Brad Mulholland may be behind the new company OceanBlue Express. Howeve,r state officials in Hawaii have not confirmed that he is connected to the new shipping line.

Matson Navigation recently bought two new container ships from Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard for $220 million. The yard began building two more sister ships, and there is speculation that the new company is interested in purchasing them. If Mr. Mulholland is behind the new company, he already knows the marketplace and the new ships.