The Kanaloa class is a pair of combination container and roll on/roll off ships built for Pacific Ocean service for Matson.
Matson ordered the ships in August 2016 from General Dynamics NASSCO, a shipbuilder in San Diego, California, at a cost of $511 million.[1] The name Kanaloa is a reference to an ocean god in Hawaiian mythology.[2] Construction of the first vessel, named Lurline, began in November 2017,[3] followed by Matsonia in April 2018.[4] Lurline was handed over to Matson in December 2019 and entered service the following month.[5] Matsonia was launched and formally named in July 2020, with an expected delivery late in the year.[6] Upon their entry into service, the two ships will replace three older vessels in line service between the continental United States and Hawaii.[1] [4]
The Kanaloa class ships were designed by a joint venture of General Dynamics NASSCO and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.[7] They measure 265m (869feet) in length, with a beam of 34.9m (114.5feet) and a draft of 11.5m (37.7feet).[7] Each ship has a containerized cargo capacity of 2,750 TEUs, and 9650m2 of interior space for up to 800 vehicles. Propulsion power is from a single MAN Diesel & Turbo 6G90ME-C10.5-Gl diesel engine (modifiable to LNG) that gives a speed of 23kn.[7] [1]