Matson to launch new loop between Hawaii and Marshall Islands

The Honolulu-based cargo carrier’s new biweekly service is scheduled to call at three Marshall Islands ports — Kwajalein, Ebeye and Majuro — beginning in the first quarter of 2018.

   Honolulu-based cargo carrier Matson, Inc. is introducing a new direct U.S. flag service between Honolulu and the Marshall Islands that’s expected to shorten cargo transit times from the U.S. mainland to the islands by up to eight days.
   The new biweekly service is scheduled to call at three Marshall Islands ports — Kwajalein, Ebeye and Majuro — beginning in the first quarter of 2018.
   To operate the new service, Matson says it has entered into an agreement to buy a 707-TEU, U.S.-flagged containership from Oyster Bay, NY-based shipping company Sealift, Inc. The vessel, which was built in Germany in 2000 and brought under the U.S. flag in 2013, is being renamed Kamokuiki, which translates to ‘small island or vessel’ in the Hawaiian language.
   Matson has said that before the ship is delivered late this year, it will be fitted with two 45-ton cranes that can be joined to handle heavy lift cargoes.
   “The vessel will be well suited to the island trade with its small stature, two cranes, hydraulic folding hatch covers, and extreme maneuverability produced by a bow thruster and flap rudder, which allows docking without tugs,” the company said in a statement.
   The new service from Honolulu will deliver cargo from the U.S. West Coast to Kwajalein, Ebeye and Majuro with a transit time of about two weeks, depending on the West Coast port, compared to three weeks or more under the current service, under which westbound containerized and bulk cargo is transshipped to Matson’s Micronesia service via Guam.
   “We will soon be offering U.S. flag service all the way to Kwajalein, Ebeye and Majuro, and at the same time we will improve transit times, providing the fastest service in the market to an important locale for the U.S. government,” Matson Chief Commercial Officer John Lauer said.