Matson's New Ship Christened
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
Aker Philly Delivers Containership to Matson
Matson Navigation Company, Inc. announced that its newest containership, MV Maunalei, has been delivered to the company by Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. The delivery of the Maunalei represents the completion of a historic four ship modernization and replacement strategy, following the delivery of the Manukai in 2003, the Maunawili in 2004, and the Manulani in 2005. "Having added only one new ship to the Matson fleet between 1983 and 2002, the four new vessels with a capital cost of over $500 million are essential to the current and future success of Matson," said W. Allen Doane, the Chairman of Matson and the Chairman and CEO of its parent company, Alexander & Baldwin. "The average age of Matson's ships was 25 years before the first ship was delivered in 2003.
