First of Matson’s New Containerships Is Christened
Work is proceeding on three new large container ships being built for Matson as part of what the company reports is a $1 billion investment in fleet expansion and modernization. The Makua was christened at the Hanwha Philly Shipyard on October 10.
At nearly 51,000 dwt, Matson's three new Jones Act-compliant vessels are being built to match the size and speed of Matson's two existing Aloha Class ships, Daniel K. Inouye and Kaimana Hila, which were also built in Philadelphia and introduced in 2018 and 2019. The ships are each 850 feet long with a capacity of 3,600 TEU, with 408 reefer slots.
Like their sisterships, the new vessels will be equipped with dual-fuel engines designed to operate on either conventional marine fuels or liquefied natural gas (LNG). They are being delivered LNG-ready to join the older ships, which were recently converted to LNG operations. They will have a top speed of 24 knots. Other "green ship technology" features include a fuel-efficient hull design, environmentally safe double hull fuel tanks, and freshwater ballast systems.
"We're excited that adding three new Aloha Class ships to Matson's fleet over the next 18 months will improve operating efficiencies and reliability, and increase capacity in our core Hawaii service, as well as our China-Long Beach Express service,” said Matt Cox, chairman and chief executive officer of Matson.
Matson board member Jenai Wall officially christened the vessel Makua in front of an audience of approximately 300 invited guests, including U.S. Maritime Administration Deputy Administrator Mark Johnson, Matson and Hanwha executives, shipyard workers, and union leaders. The new ship is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2027. Assembly of the ship began with the first grand block being placed in the dry dock in August 2025. The second vessel began assembly in May 2026, and steel cutting is underway for the third vessel.
Matson plans to name the other two new containerships Malama and Makena, with delivery scheduled for the third quarter of 2027 and the second quarter of 2028. The three new ships will replace three vessels currently deployed in Matson's Hawaii and China-Long Beach Express services. In turn, those vessels will replace three older vessels currently deployed in Alaska service, introducing bigger and faster vessels into that trade lane.
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The three Matson newbuilds are proceeding as Hanwha Philly Shipyard is also completing the last of the MARAD training ships, Golden State, which was assigned to California. The yard also recently finalized the contract to build the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) new Missile Range Instrumentation Vessel (MRIV) due for delivery in 2030. The project, which will be managed by TOTE Services, calls for up to three ships built on the same hull design as the training ships. The new MRIVs will replace Pacific Tracker and Pacific Collector, which currently support missile range instrumentation missions and were constructed in 1965 and 1970, respectively.
