The first tanker of three new Matson tankers named Makua was launched on October 10, 2026, at the Hanova shipyard in Philadelphia. These tankers are being constructed as part of Matson's billion-dollar investment to expand and modernize its fleet.
Details of the New Tankers
The Makua tanker, along with two other tankers, is being built in compliance with the Jones Act standards. These three new tankers will be built to the size and speed of Matson's previous two tankers named Daniel K. Inouye and Kaimana Hila. Each of these tankers is designed to be 850 feet long with a capacity of 3600 TEU and 408 slots for refrigerated cargo.
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Matson's CEO, Matt Cox, announced at the launch ceremony that adding these three new tankers to Matson's fleet over the next 18 months will improve efficiency and reliability and increase capacity for core Hawaii services as well as China-Long Beach services.
Construction and Delivery Schedule
The Makua tanker was launched in the presence of about 300 guests, including Mark Johnson, Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration, and officials from Matson and Hanova. This new tanker is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2027. The construction of this tanker began with the placement of the first large block in dry dock in August 2025, and the construction of the second tanker started in May 2026. Steel cutting for the third tanker is also underway.
The other two tankers will be named Malama and Makena, with their delivery scheduled for the third quarter of 2027 and the second quarter of 2028, respectively. These three new tankers will replace three current tankers that are operating in Hawaii and China-Long Beach services. Additionally, these tankers will in turn replace three older tankers that are active in Alaska services, introducing larger and faster vessels to this maritime route.
Alongside the construction of the new tankers, the Hanova shipyard in Philadelphia is completing the last MARAD training vessels named Golden State, which are dedicated to California. Furthermore, this yard has recently finalized a contract to build a new vessel for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), expected to be delivered in 2030. This project, managed by TOTE Services, includes the construction of up to three vessels based on the design of training vessels. The new MRIV vessels are set to replace the Pacific Tracker and Pacific Collector, which were built in 1965 and 1970, respectively.
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