PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — Matson Inc. and Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc. held a christening ceremony for the Aloha Class Vessel Makua, set to serve Guam in the first quarter of 2027, at the Hanwha Philly Shipyard, Philadelphia on Oct. 12.
Approximately 300 individuals including U.S. Maritime Administration deputy administrator Mark Johnson, Matson and HPSI executives, shipyard workers, and union leaders were in attendance.
Lt. General Jered P. Helwig, deputy commander for the U.S. Transportation Command, was also in attendance as a speaker.
Matson board member Jenai Sullivan Wall, chairman and CEO for Foodland Super Market Ltd., christened the Makua by breaking a ceremonial bottle of champagne against the hull. The Makua was built for Matson’s China-Long Beach Express and Hawaii Services, weighing 51,400 metric tons and measuring 850 feet long with 3,600 twenty-foot equivalent units in container capacity.
As an Aloha Class Vessel, the Makua is also one of Matson’s fastest vessels, reaching a top speed of nearly 24 knots, to ensure on time deliveries and leading transit times. The Makua, alongside two other ships expected to be named Malama and Makena, will replace three existing deployed vessels in Matson’s China-Long Beach Express and Hawaii Services in support of Matson’s fleet modernization efforts.
The three ships are part of a $1 billion investment. With the Makua to be in service in the first quarter of 2027, the second ship is expected to be in service in the third quarter of 2027, and third ship to be in service in the second quarter of 2028. All vessels will be equipped with dual fuel engines, operating on either conventional marine fuels or liquefied gas incorporating other “green ship technology” features.
The Makua and future ships would be named after Matson’s original freighters commissioned by the United States Shipping Board to increase the number of ships supporting war efforts during World War I.
Matthew J. Cox, chairman and CEO for Matson, said the company looks forward to putting the Makua to work, servicing customers early next year. "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,” he said. “And we're proud that building them here supports hundreds of good-paying shipyard jobs and will provide more than 2,500 job opportunities for U.S. mariners over the lifespan of each ship."
Aloha Class Vessels Daniel K. Inouye and Kaimana Hika currently serve Guam. mbj
