Pasha ship will carry containers

Pasha ship will carry containers    Pasha Hawaii said its new ship for the U.S. West Coast/Hawaii trade will be capable of carrying containers, creating additional competition for Matson Navigation and Horizon Lines.
   When the new vessel order was announced in February, it was described as roll-on/roll-off car-truck carrier, though the company said the Uljanik Shipyard in Croatia and VT Halter Marine of Pascagoula, Miss., were still collaborating with Pasha to finalize the new ship's design and engineering specifications.
   The new ship, Marjorie C, will be a combination carrier with capacity for 1,500 TEUs and 2,750 automobiles, according to specifications posted on its Web site.
   Honolulu-based Pasha Hawaii, said the new ship is to be delivered in fall 2013 by VT Halter. U.S. law requires ships operating between Hawaii and the mainland be built in U.S. yards, U.S. registered and employ U.S. seafarers.
   Pasha said in February, that it also signed an option agreement to construct a third vessel with a base price of $137 million.
   Pasha said the new ship will serve the mainland-to-Hawaii trade on a fortnightly basis, and will provide the only regularly scheduled direct calls to Kahului and Hilo for both ro/ro and container shipments.