The delivery of the three ultra-expensive container ships, originally scheduled for 2027, has now been postponed to the second quarter of 2028.
Recently, the “Malama,” the second Aloha-class 3,600 TEU container ship being built by Hanwha Philly Shipyard for the U.S. shipping company Matson, entered the final stage of hull assembly, while the steel-cutting ceremony for the third vessel in the series, the “Makena,” was held on the same day.
The first vessel, the “Makua,” will begin final assembly in August 2025; once all three vessels in the series are delivered, they will be among the largest container ships ever built at a U.S. shipyard.
The construction contract for this batch of container ships was originally signed in 2022. The three vessels have a total value of $1 billion, with each vessel costing over $330 million—roughly double the cost per vessel of the 24,000-TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships built at the time by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (now Hanwha Ocean). As a result, this container ship order is considered a record-breaking contract.
It is worth noting that when the shipbuilding contracts were signed, the initial delivery dates announced for the three new vessels were the fourth quarter of 2026 and 2027. According to the latest reports, the lead vessel and the subsequent two vessels are now scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2027, the third quarter of 2027, and the second quarter of 2028, respectively, indicating that the delivery schedule for this order has been confirmed to be delayed.
This type of container ship has an overall length of approximately 260 meters and a maximum speed of 23.5 knots. It can carry 3,220 standard containers and is equipped with 408 reefer container slots. The vessel is fitted with a dual-fuel engine capable of running on conventional marine fuel or LNG (ready for use upon delivery), as well as other green ship technologies, such as an energy-efficient hull design and a fresh water ballast system.
Previously, Hanwha Philly Shipyard built the first two Aloha-class container ships for Matson: the “Daniel K. Inouye” and the “Kaimana Hila,” delivered in 2018 and 2019, respectively. At the time, they were the largest container ships ever built in the United States.
After five years of service, these two container ships underwent major retrofits at COSCO SHIPPING Shipyard (Nantong), where they were converted to LNG propulsion, and were both returned to service by the end of 2024. The total cost of the retrofit project for the two vessels was $94 million, exceeding the initial estimate of $35 million each.
According to reports, Philly Shipyard, the shipyard that built new vessels for Matson, was acquired in 2024 by a subsidiary of Hanwha Group. The shipyard is now regarded as a flagship site for the Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project “MASGA.” Hanwha Ocean plans to commission the core systems at Hanwha Philly Shipyard within the year to enhance the shipyard’s digital capabilities and begin establishing a ship repair, maintenance, and overhaul (MRO) business in North America.
According to Hanwha Ocean’s medium- to long-term plan for Hanwha Philly Shipyard, the facility will receive a $5 billion investment to construct two new dry docks, three berths, and a hull production facility. The goal is to significantly increase annual production capacity from the current 1 to 1.5 vessels to 20 vessels—effectively doubling capacity—by introducing automated equipment and smart shipyard systems.