Matson Navigation Co News

-  Maersk Line, Ltd., Norfolk, Va., is being awarded a $2,100,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity fixed-price contract for international ocean and intermodal distribution services. Work will be performed worldwide as specified on each individual order, and is expected to be completed Aug. 31, 2013. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were 22 proposals received. U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., is the contracting activity (HTC711-12-D-W013). - American President Lines, Ltd., Inc., Washington, D.C., is being awarded a $1,700,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity fixed-price contract for international ocean and intermodal distribution services.

Maersk Line, Ltd., Norfolk, Va., is being awarded a $2,100,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity fixed-price contract for international ocean and intermodal distribution services. American President Lines, Ltd., Inc., Washington, D.C., is being awarded a $1,700,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity fixed-price contract for international ocean and intermodal distribution services. American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier, L.L.C., Park Ridge, N.J., is being awarded a $553,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity fixed-price contract for international ocean and intermodal distribution services. Farrell Lines, Inc., Norfolk…

On August 26 Cal Maritime received and installed a massive 18-ton, 18-ft wide brass ship’s propeller which for many years was a landmark of San Francisco’s downtown business district. For several decades, the entrance to the San Francisco office building at 100 Spear Street has been graced by an eye-catching display … a highly-polished brass ship propeller. This 18-ton piece of “commercial art” was a natural, as the building was home to many offices of ocean carriers serving the West Coast. With industry consolidation, the number of maritime-related offices in the building dwindled.

On August 26, Cal Maritime will receive and install a massive 18-ton, 18 ft wide brass ship’s propeller which for many years was a landmark of San Francisco’s downtown business district. For several decades, the entrance to the San Francisco office building at 100 Spear Street has been graced by an eye-catching display…..a highly-polished brass ship propeller. This 18-ton piece of “commercial art” was a natural, as the building was home to many offices of ocean carriers serving the West Coast. With industry consolidation, the number of maritime-related offices in the building dwindled.

The of announced that China Shipping Lines will expand its container service through . China Shipping will move from Terminal 18, where it has called since 1999, to Terminal 30, where its division China Shipping Terminals will be an equity partner with terminal operator SSA Terminals -- a joint venture between Seattle-based SSA Marine and Matson Navigation Co. Shanghai-based China Shipping, through its wholly owned divisions, brings 97,000 TEUs per year through the seaport's Terminal 18. TEUs are 20-ft.-equivalent units, the standard measure of container volumes because of their varying lengths.

Matson Navigation Co. will pay $3 million in fines after admitting it illegally dumped bilge water that may have been contaminated with waste oil, the U.S. Attorney in Seattle said. San Francisco-based Matson, a unit of Honolulu-based Alexander & Baldwin Inc. specializing in moving cargo between the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii, will also be placed on probation for three years, U.S. Attorney Kate Pflaumer said in a release. Matson will pay $500,000 each to settle cases in San Francisco and Seattle and $2 million to settle a case in Los Angeles, with half the proceeds funding environmental and law enforcement programs at coastal national parks in California and Washington state.

Matson Navigation Co. will pay $3 million in fines after admitting it illegally dumped bilge water that may have been contaminated with waste oil, the U.S. Attorney in Seattle said. San Francisco-based Matson, a unit of Honolulu-based Alexander & Baldwin Inc. specializing in moving cargo between the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii, will also be placed on probation for three years, U.S. Attorney Kate Pflaumer said in a release. Matson will pay $500,000 each to settle cases in San Francisco and Seattle and $2 million to settle a case in Los Angeles, with half the proceeds funding environmental and law enforcement programs at coastal national parks in California and Washington state.

The California state legislature is considering a new tax on shipping containers that would cost an estimated $34m a year to Hawaii shippers, The Pacific Business Journal reported. More than 80 percent of goods consumed in Hawaii are produced elsewhere and shipped to the islands, and 90 percent of those are shipped through the California ports of Oakland and Long Beach on the ships of Matson Navigation Co., Horizon Lines and Pasha Hawaii Transport. California State Senate Bill 974 would impose a $30 fee per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit, the standard measure of maritime shipping capacity) on every cargo container traveling between California and Hawaii. Most cargo containers are at two TEUs so it amounts to a $60 container fee in most cases.

Matson Navigation Co. Inc., the Oakland, Calif.-based maritime shipping subsidiary of Honolulu-based A&B posted 7 percent more third-quarter revenue but 7 percent lower operating profit. That still meant a profit above $34 million, however. The China service, launched early this year, carried more than 10,000 containers, triple Guam traffic and almost a quarter of Hawaii traffic. "The contributions from Matson's China service increased from the prior quarter, and the service is profitable," said Allen Doane, CEO of the parent company. Everything is measured against projections, however, and Doane said even this performance was lower than "planned levels" as favorable container volumes were more than offset by lower rates and higher fuel and intermodal rail costs.

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. "As many of you are aware, an earthquake struck the Hawaiian Islands this morning. The undersea quake, which was centered off of the island of Hawaii (the "Big Island"), struck at 7:07 am local time and was followed by a series of smaller aftershocks. Thankfully, initial reports indicate that casualties were limited and that there were no fatalities. As always, A&B stands ready to assist and support its employees, customers and fellow Hawaii citizens in dealing with the aftermath of the quake. "Fortunately, A&B's operations and real estate properties avoided any serious interruptions or damage as a result of the earthquake, and our terminal operations and agricultural facilities continue to operate.

According to reports, two Mobile, Ala., shipyards have landed new contracts, one to retrofit a container vessel to ship vehicles to Hawaii, and the other to build an aluminum work boat for the U.S. Navy. Atlantic Marine Alabama LLC recently signed a $17 million contract with Matson Navigation Co. Inc. to retrofit an automobile container ship. Silver Ships Inc. in Theodore has an $882,773 contract to build a 58-foot aluminum ship for Naval Systems Sea Command. For Matson, Atlantic Marine will modify a carrier capable of carrying 2,800 20-foot containers to include a large RoRo, shipping component. Source: Press Register

The new Matson Navigation Co. containership MV Maunalei was christened at the Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. The christening, the traditional kind involving breaking a bottle of champagne, was undertaken by Millie Akaka, wife of Sen. Daniel Akaka. Also on hand were Hawaii Rep. Neil Abercrombie and Guam Rep. Madeleine Bordallo. The MV Maunalei is the fourth new containership built by the shipyard for Matson in the past four years, representing an investment of more than $500m by Matson's parent company, Alexander & Baldwin Inc. The Maunalei will enter service in September and be deployed in Hawaii, Guam and China service. It has the capacity for 2,500 TEUs, or 20-ft. equivalent units. Source: Biz Journal

Matson Navigation Co. Inc. says it has drawn $70m under a $105m revolving credit facility in connection with its latest containership purchase. The 10-year senior secured reducing revolving credit facility is with DnB NOR Bank ASA, Norway's largest financial services group. "A portion of the funds borrowed under the facility was used in connection with Matson's purchase of a new containership, the MV Maunalei, which Matson took delivery of on July 12," Matson said Tuesday. The funds were drawn on July 12, the same day Matson, a subsidiary of Honolulu-based Alexander & Baldwin Inc., took delivery of the Maunalei, the fourth new containership it bought since 2003 in a $500m modernization program.

The Pacific Business has reported that Horizon Lines, in a bid to increase its market share here, will add one more port call and increase its cargo-carrying capacity in and out of Honolulu starting next year. The changes to the Hawaii service are part of a companywide drive to add new vessels and increase company earnings by a projected $30 million by 2010. Horizon has a market share of 35 percent in Hawaii, with Matson Navigation Co. controlling the rest of the cargo between Hawaii and the Mainland. Horizon said it plans to bring two ships, now in its trans-Pacific service, to the Hawaii route. In addition, the Charlotte, N.C.-based shipping company will charter five new U.S.-flagged vessels being built in Korea for its Asia-West Coast routes at a cost of $280 million.

It was 50 years ago that Malcom McLean, an entrepreneur from North Carolina, loaded a ship with 58 35-foot containers and sailed from Newark, N.J., to Houston. He was the first to design a transportation system around the packaging of cargo in huge metal boxes that could be loaded and unloaded by cranes. Container shipping eventually replaced the traditional "break-bulk" method of handling crates, barrels and bags, and stowing them loose in a ship's hold, a system in use since the days of the Phoenicians. Replacing break-bulk with cargo containers dramatically reduced shipping costs, reinvigorating markets and fueling the world economy. McLean, who died in 2001 at 87, shares the credit with Matson Navigation Co. of San Francisco, a longtime force in Pacific shipping.

The US Coast Guard announced the winners of the Rear Admiral William M. Benkert Marine Environmental Protection Awards for 2006. In the large business vessels operations category, the winners are Ocean Shipholdings of Houston; Marathon Petroleum Co. of Ashland, Kentucky; and Matson Navigation Co. of Oakland. In the large business facility operator category, the winners are Dow Chemical Co. of Freeport, Texas; BP Cooper River of Wando, South Carolina; Odjfell Terminals of Houston; , and Todd Shipyard of Seattle. In the foreign business vessel operator category, the winner is BP Shipping of the United Kingdom. In the small business vessel operations category, the winner is US Shipping Partners of Edison, New Jersey.

James S. Andrasick has been named president and chief executive officer of Matson Navigation Company,Inc., the largest subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. effective August 1, 2003. Andrasick had been serving in that position on an interim basis since July 1, 2002. the near future. Andrasick will relocate to the Bay Area. Additional management changes also were announced in the Matson organization. officer," said Doane. ships. of Matson, on a permanent basis," said Andrasick. business with the Matson team in the years to come. The additional management changes at Matson Navigation Co. sales, marketing, pricing and customer service activities. reporting to Ron Forest, senior vice president, operations. is located in Honolulu. Ron Forest, senior vice president, operations.