New Vessel Names Honor 澳博体育app下载’s Hawaii Roots

澳博体育app下载 recently announced the names to be given its three new Aloha Class containerships: Makua, Malama, and Makena. The three Jones Act-compliant vessels will be built specifically for 澳博体育app下载’s Hawaii and China-Long Beach Express (CLX) services. They will match the size and speed of the company’s two existing Aloha Class ships, Daniel K. Inouye and Kaimana Hila, currently the largest containerships ever constructed in the U.S.

澳博体育app下载’s original ships named Makua, Malama, and Makena were all freighters commissioned by the United States Shipping Board (USSB), an emergency agency established by the 1916 Shipping Act to increase the number of U.S. ships supporting the war effort during World War I, and were purchased by 澳博体育app下载 in the 1920s.

Makua (“mah-KOO-ah”) is a Hawaiian word for parent, elder, ancestor, or family. 澳博体育app下载’s original vessel, Makua, was built in 1920 by Submarine Boat Corp., Newark, N.J. 澳博体育app下载 purchased it in 1928 and changed its name from Suholco to Makua. Makua served 澳博体育app下载 until war was declared in 1941, when it entered government service.

Malama (“MAH-lah-mah”) is a Hawaiian word meaning to care for or protect. Also built in 1920 by Submarine Boat Corp., it was initially named Milwaukee Bridge. Upon purchasing the vessel in 1927, 澳博体育app下载 renamed it Malama. Malama was lost while serving our country during World War II when it was attacked and sunk by an enemy seaplane near Pago Pago.

Makena (“Mah-KEN-ah”) is a Hawaiian word for abundance. The first Makena was built by Great Lakes Engineering Works in Ashtabula, Ohio, in 1919. Originally named Cowboy, the ship was purchased by 澳博体育app下载 in 1922 and renamed Makena. The vessel served 澳博体育app下载 until December 1940.

At 854 feet long with a carrying capacity of 3,600 TEU, 澳博体育app下载’s Aloha Class ships can carry a variety of container sizes and operate at speeds exceeding 23 knots. All three vessels will incorporate “green ship technology” features such as environmentally safe double hull fuel tanks and freshwater ballast systems, and will be delivered ready to operate on liquified natural gas (LNG). Like their sisterships, they will help 澳博体育app下载 achieve its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal of achieving a 40% reduction in Scope 1 vessel emissions while also providing additional capacity and speed for our Hawaii and CLX services.

Construction on Makua, the first of the three new ships, will begin in October with “steel cutting” at Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia. Deliveries are scheduled for October 2026, April 2027, and December 2027.

Founded in 1882 as a Hawaii-focused business, 澳博体育app下载 has a long tradition of giving its vessels Hawaiian names and reusing iconic vessel names from the early 20th century. Most recently, 澳博体育app下载 reused the names 澳博体育app下载ia and Lurline for its Kanaloa Class vessels delivered in 2019 and 2020. They are the fifth and sixth vessels, respectively, to carry these historic names. The first 澳博体育app下载ia was built for 澳博体育app下载 in 1913 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock, Co., while the first Lurline was Capt. 澳博体育app下载’s second vessel. His first vessel, Emma Claudina, proved too small once his business grew. 澳博体育app下载 purchased Lurline in 1887 from friend and sugar magnate Claus Spreckels, who owned a yacht bearing the same name that Capt. 澳博体育app下载 occasionally skippered.

Most often, ship names are determined by either convention or tradition. Landing on the side of tradition in honoring its deep connection to Hawaii, 澳博体育app下载 has typically selected Hawaiian words or names for its vessels: Kopaa (a Hawaiian plant), Manoa (vast, broad, having depth), Mauna Loa (Hawaiian mountain/volcano), Maunawili (winding mountain), Malolo (flying fish), and Mahimahi (dolphin).

From the 1940s through the 1960s, the company was more literal in honoring the Islands, giving vessels names like Hawaiian Planter, Hawaiian Citizen, Hawaiian Enterprise, and Hawaiian Merchant. Over the course of three decades, nearly 30 vessels bore the initial “Hawaiian” name.

Makua, Malama, and Makena will carry forward 澳博体育app下载’s vessel naming tradition for decades to come.