Matson announced that its container ship Kaimana Hila has returned to service after completing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel conversion at a Chinese shipyard. This is Matson’s third container ship to be converted to LNG fuel.
“Kaimana Hila” has a capacity of 3,600 TEU and began operations in 2019. The 260-meter long ship has a capacity of 3,220 TEUs with more than 400 reefer spaces. Equipped with a MAN B&W S90ME main engine, the ship and its sister ship, the Daniel K. Inouye, have been designed with LNG bunkering at a time when Matson was emphasizing the lack of LNG bunkering in the United States.
“Daniel K. Inouye” completed its refit in June 2023, and the “Kaimana Hila” arrived at COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Equipment (Nantong) in mid-2024 and departed Shanghai on December 12 and is scheduled to arrive at the Port of Long Beach, California within 10 days.
The conversion works for the two ships include the installation of LNG dual-fuel gas supply and control system for the main engine and four auxiliary engines, the installation of three 1,350 cubic meter LNG fuel tanks, and the installation of system-related equipment such as fire extinguishing, ventilating, lighting, communication, monitoring, and other related equipment.
Matson also took advantage of the refit period to install bow windshields on the Kaimana Hila, which have been proven to improve aerodynamics and save fuel, and are now becoming increasingly popular among container ships.
The conversions are part of a larger strategy for Matson, the company said. The company also converted the 2,370 TEU container ship Manukai in 2024. Built in 2003, the ship arrived in Nantong in August 2023 for an overhaul that included replacing the main engine and installing LNG tanks and systems. Due to the lack of an LNG reserve design, Manukai needed to replace the main engine in order to run on LNG fuel. The entire conversion project cost US$ 74 million.
Matson has two other container ships to be converted, the Lurline, which was operated in 2019, and the Matsonia, which will be operated in 2020. However, the conversion plans for these two ships have not yet been announced.
Matson has three more LNG dual-fuel 3,600 TEU container ships under construction at the Philly Shipyard. The three new ships, along with the Daniel K. Inouye and Kamina Hila, are the largest container ships ever built in the United States. The first ship, named Makua, is already under construction and is scheduled for delivery in 2026.
Due to the U.S. Jones Act restrictions, merchant ships within the U.S. must be built by U.S. shipyards. According to the announcement of Matson, the total investment of three 3600TEU ships amounted to US$1 billion, and the cost of a single ship was US$330 million. And a 4300TEU container ship in China shipyard construction costs only about 60 million dollars, the United States shipyard price is more than five times the Chinese shipyard.