Matson doubles shipping service to China

Matson Navigation expanded its China service with a second five-ship port rotation that will double its capacity between China and California. The addition of port stops in Hong Kong, Yantian and Shanghai will boost Matson’s growing China trade. For this new service Matson is chartering five ships. The new expanded service adds to the company’s existing China operation that uses five Matson-owned vessels. Those ships had been servicing Xiamen, Ningbo and Shanghai. The chartered ships will go directly from Long Beach, California  to China and skip stops in Honolulu and Guam. The San Francisco Business Times reports that the latter two ports are included in Matson’s existing five-ship rotation. Matson is a wholly owned subsidiary of Honolulu-based Alexander & Baldwin.