Sun Ship Lands Contract To Construct 720-Foot Containership For Matson Navigation

Matson Navigation Companyhas signed a contract with Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. of Chester, Pa., for the construction of a 720-foot, 38,800-ton containership for Matson's West Coast- Hawaii freight service, with delivery by January 1980.

Total cost of the vessel will be about $75.5 million, including financing costs, said R.J. Pfeiffer, Matson president.

The containership will be capable of carrying 1,121 containers (911 twenty-four-foot units, 36 twenty-seven-foot units, 174 forty- foot units), including 302 refrigerated containers.

"When that ship joins our fleet, Matson will be in the strongest position in its 95-year history to provide complete freight service to Hawaii through the 1980s and beyond," Mr. Pfeiffer said.

The vessel will be built from an advanced design of Matson's S/S Hawaiian Enterprise and S/S Hawaiian Progress, which entered service in 1970, and the new S/S Maui, which will join the fleet in June.

The vessel will be powered by a geared steam turbine rated at 32,000 shaft horsepower, with a speed of more than 22 knots.

Advanced design features of the new ship include improved fuel economy, elimination of ondeck container lashing, and added capacity for carrying automobiles in garage-type stowage.

Deck lashings will be elimi- nated by stowing more containers below decks. Extended hatch coamings will provide greater protection to cargo containers from damage at sea.

The vessel will also be equipped with a bow thruster to aid in docking and undocking operations.

The shipyard is moving rapidly ahead on the design and engineering of the vessel in preparation for a keel-laying later this year.

Sun Hull No. 678 will be the largest containership ever constructed by the shipyard, and will be the third vessel Sun Ship has built for Matson in the 1970s. Two previous vessels, the trailerships S/S Lurline (Sun Hull No. 662) and S/S Matsonia (Sun Hull No.

664), are currently being operated by Matson in the U.S. West Coast to Hawaii trade.

Other stories from March 1978 issue

Content

Maritime Reporter

First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.