China’s Cosco Shipping Shipyard (Nantong) has been contracted by Matson Navigation to retrofit the engines of the company’s containership, Kaimana Hila, with liquified natural gas (LNG) fuel capability.
Honolulu-headquartered Matson said in a statement that it had signed the contract for the LNG retrofit project earlier this year.
According to Cosco, the project includes the installation of an LNG fuel-gas supply system for the vessel’s main engine and four auxiliary engines, three 1,350-cbm LNG fuel tanks, and other equipment.
The 3,600-TEU Aloha Class containership was built in 2019 and is a sister vessel to Daniel K. Inouye, which was built the previous year by Philly Shipyard and retrofitted last year at the Chinese shipyard with three Type C LNG fuel tanks and a MAN 7S90ME-GI engine.
The cost of retrofitting Kaimana Hila was estimated at about $35 million, the same as Daniel K. Inouye.
Besides the two Aloha-class vessels, Matson has said it is planning to replace the main engine on its containership Manukai with a dual-fuel engine at an estimated cost of approximately $60 million.
Last December, Matson said that Manukai’s main crankshaft had been removed in preparation for the installation of the new diesel/LNG-capable engine.
The re-engined ship is expected to return to service later this year.
The ocean carrier – long established in the California-Hawaii trade lane – has said it is also considering LNG retrofitting projects for its Kanaloa Class vessels, Lurline and Matsonia, and that it will invest up to $130 million to refit the two ships to run on LNG fuel.
In 2022, Matson Navigation ordered three new 3,600-TEU LNG-powered Aloha Class containerships at Philly Shipyard for about $1 billion.
The company will take delivery of the first of those Jones Act-compliant vessels in the fourth quarter of 2026 with subsequent deliveries in 2027.