USCG: Matson’s Aloha Class vessels U.S.-built despite foreign components

The U.S. Coast Guard’s National Vessel Documentation Center has determined the two Matson containerships currently under construction at Philly Shipyard, Inc. to be U.S.-built and therefore eligible for trade under the Jones Act.    The U.S. Coast Guard’s National Vessel Documentation Center has determined that Matson’s Aloha Class vessels qualify as U.S.-built despite containing certain foreign-built components.
   The determination means these vessels will still be eligible for Jones Act trade along the coast, said Christina Washburn, director of the National Vessel Documentation Center.
   The standard for major components not fabricated in the U.S. in total must not exceed 1.5 percent of the vessel’s steelweight. At 1.25 percent, the Aloha class vessels meet the standard, making them eligible for the U.S. Coast Guard’s determination.
   The two 3,600-TEU vessels are currently under construction at Philly Shipyard, Inc., and Matson plans to deploy them in the U.S. mainland-Hawaii trade lane. 
   According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, Matson operates three services to Hawaii with a fourth service to Alaska. The carrier deploys a total 11 vessels on these loops with an average capacity of 2,392 TEUs.