Matson Navigation Company will convert the main engine aboard its container ship, ‘Kaimana Hila’, from an MAN B&W S90ME-C10.5 unit to a dual-fuel ME-GI unit capable of running on LNG, according to the company's release.
In doing so, it is exercising an option contained in a contract it signed with MAN Energy Solutions in June 2022 to perform an identical conversion on a sister ship, the ‘Daniel K. Inouye’. The Kaimana Hila was built in 2019 and MAN Energy Solutions’ after-sales division, MAN PrimeServ, will perform the 3,600 teu vessel’s retrofit.
The option take-up comes on the heels of the recent announcement by Matson of the construction of three LNG-powered newbuilds that will also be driven by ME-GI engines.
Retrofitting a dual-fuel engine is one of the most effective ways to derive greater efficiency and profitability from a shipping fleet. As such, a dual-fuel conversion delivers the fuel flexibility to take advantage of optimal fuel prices; it can also help vessels comply with IMO emission targets and extend their operational lifetimes to bring a greater return on investments.
Matson is a leading provider of ocean transportation and logistics services. Matson provides ocean freight transportation services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam, and to other island economies in Micronesia. Matson also operates premium, expedited services from China to Long Beach, California, provides service to Okinawa, Japan and various islands in the South Pacific, and operates an international export service from Dutch Harbor to Asia. The company's fleet of owned and chartered vessels includes containerships, combination container and roll-on/roll-off ships and custom-designed barges.