Philly Shipyard to build up to four containerships for Hawaii trade

Philly Shipyard has declined to name the entity that it signed the agreement with, saying only that it’s “a blue chip U.S. shipping operating company.”

   Philly Shipyard, Inc. has entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the construction and sale of up to four new, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly containerships with planned deliveries in 2020 and 2021, the company said in a statement Friday.
   Philly Shipyard has declined to name the entity with which it signed the deal, saying only that it is “a blue chip U.S. shipping operating company.”
   The LOI builds on ongoing discussions between the parties and marks the entry into the next phase in the transaction process, Philly Shipyard said.
   Under the terms of the agreement, the shipping operating company is expected to make an initial order for two 3,700-TEU containerships and receive options to order two additional vessels. The vessels would service the containership trade between the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii. 
   Philly Shipyard said in June that it had already begun construction of the vessels, which are the continuation of the series of two similar 850-foot, 3,600-TEU “Aloha Class” containerships now under construction at the shipyard for Matson Navigation’s Hawaii trade-lane.
   Matson is currently one of two carriers currently servicing the Hawaii-Mainland trade route, with the other being the Pasha Group.
   At the time that it announced that it was beginning construction of two new containerships, PSI also said that is was currently engaged in “advanced discussions with a major U.S. shipping operator” about establishing a new carrier with a fleet of modern vessels to be built by the shipyard to support commerce between the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii, and that “several prominent investors and lenders in the U.S. shipping market” have expressed interest in taking part in the venture.
   Philly Shipyard has declined to say whether the entity that it just inked the LOI with is the same one that it has had “advanced discussions” with regarding establishment of a new carrier fleet.