Aker delivers fourth Matson boxship

Matson Navigation took delivery of the ?Maunalei?, the fourth and last of its Independence Class CV2500 containerships from Aker Philadelphia shipyard. Oakland-based Matson is owned by Honolulu-based Alexander & Baldwin Inc. and the ?Maunalei? is the fourth ship Matson has bought since 2003 in a modernization and replacement program costing $500 million. Before this project, the company added just one new ship to its fleet between 1983 and 2002.

The yard is currently building tankers as part of a 10-ship deal, worth more than $1 billion, under which Overseas Shipholding Group, of New York, will lease vessels from another R?kke-controlled subsidiary and charter them to U.S. carriers. Three major companies have signed charter agreements – Tesoro Maritime Co., of San Antonio, Texas; BP Shipping, of Chicago; and Shell Oil Co., of Houston. The first tanker is scheduled for delivery late this year with two more will be completed next year.

Controversy continues at the yard, however, when in May the Metal Trades Department of the AFL-CIO labour federation protested to the US Coast Guard that Aker was violating the U.S. Jones Act by importing the bulbous bow sections of the tankers it is building now. The USCG said last month that the imported sections were 1.14% of each hull’s total weight, below the 1.5% limit. The union vowed to take its fight to Congress.