Philly Shipyard of Pennsylvania has begun construction of three new LNG-fuelled ships ordered from the company by container line Matson. Deliveries of these three additional Aloha-class vessels will take place between 2026 and 2027.
The three new Jones Act-compliant, 3,600TEU vessels, representing an investment of approximately US$1 billion, will be built to match the size and speed of Matson's two existing Aloha-class ships, Daniel K. Inouye and Kamina Hila, which were also built by Philly Shipyard and entered service in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Like their sisters, the new vessels will be equipped with dual-fuel engines designed to operate on either conventional marine fuels or LNG, as well as other "green ship technology" features such as a fuel-efficient hull design, double-hull fuel tanks, and freshwater ballast systems.
The new Aloha-class ships will each measure 854 feet (260 metres) long and will be able to reach speeds of up to 23 knots. Matson said that while the earlier Aloha-class ships required some modification to operate with LNG, the new ships will be delivered LNG-ready.