Matson christens $250M cargo ship Lurline

The Lurline is slated to soon again deliver cargo to Hawaii following the christening Saturday of the sixth Matson ship to have the name.

Workers launched the 870-foot-long Lurline into San Diego Bay from a General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in California where the roughly $250 million ship was built for Hawaii’s largest ocean cargo transportation firm.

Matson’s first Lurline sailed to Hilo from San Francisco in 1887 under Capt. William Matson, for whom Matson Inc. is named. Several other Matson ships, including a passenger liner, were given the Lurline name, the most recent being a cargo vessel that was built in 1973 and retired several years ago.

The new Lurline can carry the equivalent of 3,200 20-foot shipping containers plus about 500 vehicles in an enclosed garage.

Matson said the Lurline is the largest container/ rolling-cargo ship ever built in the United States.

Following testing and other work, the Lurline is expected to begin service in early November.

The Lurline is the third of four new ships ordered by Matson in recent years. The first ship, the Daniel K. Inouye, was finished last year, followed by the Kaimana Hila earlier this year. The Matsonia, which also recycles a popular Matson ship name, is scheduled to be finished next year.