Philly Shipyard bags $1bn order for three LNG ships

Under a contract valued atb$1bn, Philly Shipyard will construct three 3,600-TEU, LNG dual-fuel container ships for Matson Navigation.

Among the largest container ships ever built in the US, the first of the three 260-m Aloha-class vessels will be delivered in Q4 2026, with subsequent ships handed over in 2027.

The Big Board-listed Jones Act shipowner said the new vessels will be equipped with dual-fuel engines that are designed to operate on either conventional marine fuels or LNG, with other ‘green ship technology’ features such as a fuel-efficient hull design and environmentally safe double-hull fuel tanks and freshwater ballast systems. While the earlier ships require some modification to operate with LNG, the new ships will be delivered LNG-ready. The box ships have a service speed of 23 knots.

The contract award further bolsters Philly Shipyard’s current order backlog, consisting of five national security multi-mission vessels for Tote Services and one subsea rock installation vessel for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. With the latest shipbuilding contract from Matson, Philly Shipyard’s orderbook is now the largest in its 25-year history at over US$2Bn. Philly Shipyard previously delivered six container ships to Matson including the two Aloha-class vessels, in 2018 and 2019.