DSME Lands $120 Million Deal Out of Jones Act Ship Order

Artist rendering of Matson Kanaloa Class vessel. Courtesy General Dynamics NASSCO (PRNewsFoto/Matson, Inc.)

South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineer is set to get $120 million from Matson’s order for two new LNG-powered container and roll-on/roll-off vessels placed at NASSCO.

South Korea’s Yonhap news reported that the contract was signed between DSEC, a subsidiary of DSME, and General Dynamic’s NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, where the vessels will be built. The contract covers design and supply of materials, Yonhap reports.

NASSCO has partnered with DSEC on just about all of its commercial shipbuilding projects since 2006, together producing four ship designs for five separate Jones Act owners so far to date.

Matson says the new vessels, called the Kanaloa class, will be built on a 3,500 TEU platform, with enclosed garage space for up to 800 vehicles. They will measure 265 meters long by 34.9 meters wide, and also feature a fuel efficient hull design, environmentally safe double hull fuel tanks, and fresh water ballast systems.

The Kanaloa-class will also be equipped with dual fuel engines, which Matson says would be “capable” of operating on either conventional fuel oils or liquefied natural gas with “some adaptation for LNG.”

Matson placed the newbuild order this past August for a total price of $511 million. The company says the new vessels will replace three older and less efficient ships currently in service on the Hawaii route.

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