Aloha Marine Lines Launches New Barge Built by Gunderson

Aloha Marine Lines has added a new barge to its fleet to serve customers in the Seattle to Hawaii trade lane.

The Makani Loa was constructed at Gunderson Marine & Iron in Portland, Ore., and launched on March 2 as a sister to the Kamakani and Namakani, which were added to the Aloha fleet in 2020. Together, they represent Aloha Marine Lines’ family of Makani Class barges that will continue to maintain regular, bi-weekly barge service between Seattle and Hawaii.

Designed by Hockema Group, Inc., the Makani Class barges are 438 feet long, 105 feet wide with a deadweight capacity of 16,900 tons. They are fitted with high binwalls which help to keep freight secure while minimizing the amount of lashing needed for each voyage.

Aloha Marine Lines is part of the Lynden family of companies. Of the 34 barges that it owns and operates, 26 of them were built by Gunderson. Makani Loa is the first launched since new ownership took over Gunderson in 2023.