Matson invests in new equipment

The ocean carrier announced plans to invest over $30 million in new equipment following its May 29 acquisition of Horizon Lines.    Ocean carrier Matson expects to invest over $30 million in new equipment, planned by Horizon Lines prior to Matson’s May 29 acquisition of the company, and has already scheduled work to install new exhaust scrubber systems on three of the former Horizon D7 Class vessels.
   New equipment upgrades include 2,000 new standard 40-foot dry containers for general cargo; a 65-ton gantry crane, scheduled to arrive in Kodiak early August; 430 new insulated containers for winter operations, scheduled to arrive in Anchorage late October; and two new Kenworth tractors for the Anchorage Terminal. The new tractors and the first of the new dry containers are already in use.
   In addition, the three D7 Class vessels will go into dry dock one at a time for three months each to install the new exhaust scrubber systems, which will help the vessels comply with the latest federal emissions regulations and eliminate sulfur dioxide and particulate emissions.
   The vessels currently provide two weekly sailings from Tacoma to Anchorage and Kodiak, and a weekly sailing to Dutch Harbor. Matson will deploy a reserve containership while each vessel is in dry dock to prevent schedule disruption. Modifications to the three vessels are expected to be completed by December 2016.