Americas News
Philly Shipyard Set Build Four "Environment-Friendly" Box Ships for Hawaii Liner Service
Philly Shipyard, Inc. (PSI) today announced that it is in "advanced talks" with a Jones Act operator to establish a new shipping service in the Hawaii containership trade with up to four new, "state-of-the-art, cost-effective and environment-friendly" vessels.
PSI says the vessels are being designed to address the present market trends for larger containers, faster transit times, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel.
"We are excited to get started on building a new fleet of containerships for a new carrier in the Hawaii trade and are pleased to have received such positive feedback from well-known U.S. marine players and financing sources," said Steinar Nerbovik, PSI's President & CEO.
"Philly Shipyard has a strong track-record of building quality vessels for this trade, and we believe local communities can benefit greatly from the safe and reliable service provided by our modern, efficient and 'green' ships."
PSI notes that the fleet of cost-efficient and eco-friendly container vessels will support the Hawaii trade route amid tightening emission regulations on shipping in 2020.
"When strict MARPOL/ECA emissions regulations take effect in 2020, several of the older steam powered vessels serving the Hawaii trade route today will be out of compliance without substantial, costly modifications," said PSI.
"Even if these ageing steamships are modified, they would be less reliable and carry significantly higher operating costs than modern vessels in areas such as fuel consumption and manning and maintenance requirements."
The first pair of newbuilds are slated for delivery in 2020, while the second pair is expected in 2021.
PSI notes that the newcontainer ships are a continuation of the series of two similar 3,600 TEU "Aloha Class" container ships.
In May, Matson, Inc. (Matson) announced that, along with PSI, it had reached an important milestone in the construction of the first of two new "Aloha Class" dual-fuel container ships, having held a ceremony for the first engine room section being lowered into place.
