By Karen Robes Meeks
Hawaii-based shipper Matson has been investing more than $700 million in facility upgrades and purchases in the last two years to enter the Alaskan market, according to a May 23 story by the Alaska Dispatch News.
Matson recently announced that it has added a pollutant-capturing system on container ships traveling between Tacoma to Alaska. The system apparently sprays down water treated with sodium hydroxide into the exhaust system, while ships sail, and collects and treats the wash water into a 5,000-gallon tank below the engine room to neutralize the compounds.
It is the latest in a series of investments by Matson, who in 2015 acquired Horizon Lines' Alaska operations and then cargo hauler Span Alaska a year later. Both acquisitions totaled $669 million, according to the Alaska Dispatch News.
The Hawaiian shipper also spent more than $50 million to outfit its Alaska fleet and operations, and in 2015 replaced an old container crane in Kodiak. In addition, Matson added workers to its Alaskan operations, which now employs more than 300 people.