Matson continues fleet renewal with versatile Kanaloa-class ships
Professional Mariner|Annual American Ship Review 2021
Matson Navigation has a proud history in the Pacific dating back more than a century. The 870-foot container/roll-on, roll-off (conro) Lurline will build on that legacy well into the future.
Casey Conley
Matson continues fleet renewal with versatile Kanaloa-class ships

Lurline is the first of two Kanaloaclass ships built by General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego. Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering collaborated with NASSCO on the design for Lurline and Matsonia, a sister ship scheduled for delivery later this year. The vessels are the largest con-ros ever built in the United States.

Lurline has a covered garage on the aft deck to transport up to 500 vehicles plus rolling stock, and room for 2,750 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers (TEU). With a top speed of 23 knots, it is one of Matson’s fastest ships, and also its largest and most versatile.

The Kanaloa-class ships are among the “greenest” U.S.-flagged cargo vessels. For instance, Lurline is one of the first ships calling on West Coast ports equipped with an IMO Tier III-certified engine. That 42,738-hp MAN engine also can be converted to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Matson, based in Honolulu, is named for Swedish-born Capt. William Matson. He arrived in San Francisco as a teenager in 1867 and earned a name for himself sailing around San Francisco Bay. Those exploits brought him into contact with the wealthy Spreckels family.

Matson clearly made an impression on the industrialists, who hired him to skipper the family yacht, Lurline. In 1882, the family helped him launch his namesake shipping company, Matson Navigation Co. The company’s first vessel, Emma Claudina, carried building materials west to Hawaii and returned brimming with sugar grown on the islands.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM PROFESSIONAL MARINERView all
Mariner's role still unknown as autonomous shipping gains speed
Professional Mariner

Mariner's role still unknown as autonomous shipping gains speed

Mariners’ role still unknown as autonomous shipping gains speed

time-read
6 mins  |
December - January2021
Piracy edges closer to home with wave of raids in southern Gulf
Professional Mariner

Piracy edges closer to home with wave of raids in southern Gulf

In the brief cellphone video recorded by a crewmember on the offshore supply vessel (OSV) Remas, the pirates walk back and forth on the deck of the ship, clenching their guns and using them to point as they order around the crew. Their faces are draped in clothing and bandanas.

time-read
4 mins  |
December - January2021
Casualties
Professional Mariner

Casualties

NTSB: Dredge hit Texas gas pipeline, causing fire that killed four

time-read
4 mins  |
December - January2021
IMO emissions report raises new concerns about methane slip
Professional Mariner

IMO emissions report raises new concerns about methane slip

A recent report from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) reveals that global shipping emissions increased nearly 10 percent from 2012 to 2018, with the industry facing a growing challenge concerning methane slip.

time-read
3 mins  |
December - January2021
Bay State brothers find industry niche by making old into new
Professional Mariner

Bay State brothers find industry niche by making old into new

Zero non-conformities is what you want to hear when the U.S. Coast Guard inspects your tugboat. Once you’ve prepared your vessel, the inspectors come aboard to peruse your paperwork. They ask you pointed questions, to which they expect straightforward answers. Perusal completed, they then scrutinize all of the related safety systems, from bilge to antennas — even the ship’s bell.

time-read
5 mins  |
December - January2021
Signals
Professional Mariner

Signals

A year into the pandemic, thousands ‘essentially indentured’ on ships

time-read
3 mins  |
December - January2021
Analysis points to faulty loading, low ballast in Golden Ray rollover
Professional Mariner

Analysis points to faulty loading, low ballast in Golden Ray rollover

While the salvage of the sunken vehicle carrier Golden Ray has been delayed for months due to COVID-19 and the hurricane season, analysis by the U.S. Coast Guard has determined a possible cause for the rollover: a combination of vehicles placed too high on the ship’s decks, and not enough ballast water gave the placement of the cargo.

time-read
2 mins  |
December - January2021
Seastreak newcomer pushing through dip in demand
Professional Mariner

Seastreak newcomer pushing through dip in demand

Two years ago, Seastreak LLC took delivery of Seastreak Commodore, a 600-passenger fast ferry, from Gulf Craft of Franklin, La. Designed by Australia-based Incat Crowther, the vessel is the largest of its kind in the United States and was built to meet the burgeoning demand for service in the New York-New Jersey market.

time-read
2 mins  |
December - January2021
New year in a new world: Navigating COVID's maritime realities
Professional Mariner

New year in a new world: Navigating COVID's maritime realities

In a matter of days, the decorative time balls will drop, “Auld Lang Syne” will fill the air, and ships at anchor will sound their horns as the world welcomes in the new year.

time-read
4 mins  |
December - January2021
Advanced props, rudders provide new efficiencies below the waterline
Professional Mariner

Advanced props, rudders provide new efficiencies below the waterline

It took a decade or two from the invention of the marine propeller in the 19th century for the technology to become widely accepted. Thereafter, adoption has been nearly universal, but progress toward improved efficiencies has come in fits and starts.

time-read
5 mins  |
December - January2021