On December 18, General Dynamics NASSCO delivered Matsonia, the second of two Kanaloa-class vessels built for Matson, a Honolulu-based shipping and logistics company. At 870 feet long, 114 feet wide (beam) and weighing over 50,000 metric tons, Matsonia will join the first ship, Lurline, as Matson’s largest ships.
Matsonia and Lurline feature a 3,500 TEU containership design with four decks for automobiles, two decks for trailers and a stern quartering ramp. Other features include a fuel-efficient hull design, environmentally safe double hull fuel tanks, fresh water ballast systems and the first Tier 3 dual-fuel engines to be deployed in containerships regularly serving West Coast ports. Tier 3 engines reduce the levels of particulate emissions by 40 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by 20 percent, as compared to Tier 2 standards.
“We are proud of the work that we’ve done on both Kanaloa-class vessels,” said Dave Carver, president of General Dynamics NASSCO. “We’ve reached a historical milestone by delivering the largest combination container / roll-on, roll-off (“con-ro”) ships ever built in the United States.”
Lurline, which entered service in January of this year, will join Matsonia as two of Matson’s fastest vessels, with the ability to operate at or above 23 knots, helping ensure on-time deliveries in Hawaii from Matson’s three West Coast terminals in Tacoma, Oakland and Long Beach.
“Together with the modernization and expansion of our Honolulu terminal, these investments position Matson to provide efficient, reliable service to Hawaii for decades to come,” said Matt Cox, chairman and chief executive officer for Matson.
Along with Lurline, Matsonia will join the Jones Act fleet, requiring ships to be built in a U.S. shipyard and crewed by U.S. citizens and permanent residents, further protecting hundreds of thousands of jobs in the domestic American maritime industry.
