Matson and Hanwha Philly Shipyard christened the containership Makua, the first in a new series of three vessels, during a ceremony in Philadelphia on Saturday, October 10.
The 3,600TEU Jones Act-compliant ship is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2027. Sister vessels Malama and Makena are slated to arrive in Q3 2027 and Q2 2028, respectively.
The three ships represent an investment of approximately US$1 billion and are being built for Matson’s Hawaii and China–Long Beach service, where they will replace three existing vessels. The ships displaced from those services will in turn take the place of three older vessels in Matson’s Alaska service.
Matson Chairman and CEO Matt Cox said that the addition of Makua and her two sisters 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.”
The new ships are designed to match the dimensions and speed of Matson’s existing vessels Daniel K. Inouye and Kaimana Hila, which began service in 2018 and 2019, respectively. They will each have a length of 850 feet (260 metres), a top speed of nearly 24 knots, and 408 reefer plugs.
The vessels will arrive LNG-ready, with dual-fuel engines capable of using traditional marine fuel or LNG.
Other features will include fuel-efficient hulls, double-hull fuel tanks, and freshwater ballast systems.
Matson began construction on the programme in September 2024, when it expected the first delivery in the fourth quarter of 2026. The keel for Makua was laid in August 2025.
Source: Baird Maritime