Gov Ige announces Honolulu container terminal assignments
by Michael Hansen, Hawaii Shippers Council, September 21, 2017
Hawaii State Governor David Ige issued on September 21, 2017, a press release, “Governor Ige announces milestone in harbor modernization,” announcing the future assignment of container terminals facilities in Honolulu to accommodate Matson Navigation Company Inc. (Matson), Pasha Hawaii Transport Line LLC (Pasha Hawaii) and Saltchuk Resources Inc. / TOTE Inc. (Saltchuk / TOTE).
Chart: Who's who at Kalapama Container Terminal
The Governor confirmed the earlier Matson Inc. (NTSE: MATX) filing with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) that Pasha Hawaii will relocate all their current operations from their existing terminal operations at Pier 51A on Sand Island and at Piers 1 and 2 on the Diamond Head side of Honolulu Harbor to the new Kapalama Container Terminal (KCT).
That presumably includes all five operations Pasha Hawaii and their wholly-owned stevedoring subsidiary, Hawaii Stevedores Inc., currently accommodate at the two locations in Honolulu Harbor: (i) Pasha Hawaii’s own twice-a-week domestic Jones Act California /Hawaii services (code named CHX & LHX) at Pier 51A; (ii) APL Inc.’s fortnightly foreign flag Aloha Express (AEX) service at Pier 51A; (iii) Pasha Hawaii’s weekly domestic Jones Act Roll-on / Roll-off (Ro / Ro) vehicle service employing the JEAN ANN and MAJORIE C ships at Pier 2; (iv) the container operations of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) / NYK Line’s weekly foreign flag Asia Hawaii Express (AHX) at Pier 1; and, (v) the joint foreign flag service of Hapag-Lloyd / U.S. Lines (CMA CGM) / Hamburg Sud Maersk calling at Pier 1 northbound every six-weeks from Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
Pasha Hawaii’s relocation from Pier 51A to KCT would permit Matson to carry-out their Honolulu Terminal expansion plans on Sand Island to encompass the current Pasha Hawaii Pier 51A terminal.
After Pasha Hawaii and its customers relocate their operations from Pier 1 & 2, Gov Ige stated the State will upgrade that terminal for use by Saltchuk / TOTE. Piers 1 & 2 are Matson’s former terminal prior to relocating all their Honolulu operations to Sand Island in the mid-1980’s.
We estimate extensive upgrades will be necessary for Piers 1 & 2 including dredging, rebuilding the wharf aprons and installation of new container gantry crane tracks. This may mean the Pier 1 & 2 terminal won’t be available to TOTE until the 2024 / 2025 time frame – possibly eight years from the present.
Presumably, this will give TOTE ample time to consider their next step in regards to launching a new entrant service between the U.S. West Coast (USWC) and Hawaii.
Another consideration is what Philly Shipyard Inc. will now do in respect to the four containerships they hoped to construct for Saltchuk / TOTE’s new entrant USWC / Hawaii service during the next couple of years for delivery in the 2020/2021 time frame. It’s widely believed that Philly Shipyard needs the work building four new containerships for the Hawaii or some other Jones act trade, and a significant delay would presumably be detrimental.
It will be interesting to see if the increase in Matson share price that occurred after their September 21st SEC filing, which only mentioned Pasha Hawaii’s relocation to KCT and did not mention the allocation of Pier 1 & 2 to Saltchuk, will be sustained after the Governor’s announcement of the complete allocation plan including the assignment of Piers 1 & 2 to Saltchuk / TOTE.
Key excerpts:
Gov. David Ige and the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation (HDOT) Harbors Division announced a key decision on the allocation of cargo yard space at Honolulu Harbor.
TOTE Maritime will operate at Piers 1 and 2 and on 45 acres of adjacent land. As part of the agreement with the company, HDOT will improve and develop Piers 1 and 2, allowing TOTE to launch Hawai ‘i operations upon the completion of the infrastructure improvements. In addition, Pasha will consolidate its operations from Piers 1 and 2 and from its existing terminal at Pier 51A, to the new KCT with more space for operations. The moves enable Matson to expand into Pasha’s existing site at Pier 51A on Sand Island for a contiguous terminal of 130 acres.
Gov. Ige and the HDOT Harbors Division are also pleased to announce its contract award to Kiewit Infrastructure West Company for construction of the first phase of the Kapalama Container Terminal. The KCT project at Piers 41, 42, and 43 in Honolulu Harbor is the centerpiece of the state’s Harbors Modernization Plan (HMP) and features a new 84-acre container yard and 1,800 linear feet of new berthing space. HDOT received six sealed bids for Phase I, with Kiewit submitting the lowest bid of $163,521,093.
The KCT project will be constructed in two phases over a four-year period with an estimated project cost of $448 million. Upon completion, targeted for 2022, KCT will reduce the congestion in Honolulu Harbor. Its location bordering the existing interisland cargo yard will allow approximately 50,000 truckloads per year to move directly between the facilities, alleviating traffic on adjacent road ways.
Phase I – Landside Construction is scheduled to begin in December 2017. Phase I includes an 84-acre container yard with an elevated two-foot grade to accommodate sea level rise, construction of support buildings, entry and exit gates, security fencing, parking, gantry cranes and container-handling equipment, on-site utilities, energy efficient lighting, a HDOT-Highways weigh station, and other ancillary features. This phase also includes the paving of surface streets leading to the adjacent existing inter-island cargo facility.
Phase II – Waterside Construction is tentatively scheduled to be out to bid in 2018, pending permit approvals.
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Matson announces assignment of Kapalama Container Terminal
by Michael Hansen, Hawaii Shippers Council, September 21, 2017
Matson Inc. filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 21, 2017, a Regulation Fair Disclosure (Regulation FD) on Form 8-K, announcing that the Hawaii State Harbors Division has assigned the Kapalama Container Terminal (KCT) to Pasha Hawaii Transport Line LLC (Pasha Hawaii).
This means that Matson Navigation Company Inc. will be able to expand as planned their existing 180-acre Honolulu Container Terminal at Piers 51B, 51C, 52 and 53 on Sand Island to encompass Pasha Hawaii’s existing container terminal at Pier 51A. Matson’s Honolulu Terminal is their hub for interisland, South Pacific and Marshall Islands transshipment relays.
The price of Matson Inc. stock (NYSE: MATX) moved up on the announcement closing at $28.67 up $2.32 in an overall market that was down 53.36 on the Dow Jones Average.
Matson’s stock price fell sharply after Saltchuk Resourcew Inc. / TOTE Inc. announced on August 17, 2017, their formal application with the Harbors Division seeking assignment of KCT for a new entrant container shipping service they would inaugurate with four newbuild containerships to be built at Philly Shipyard Inc.
This would appear to end Saltchuk / TOTE’s efforts to inaugurate a container shipping service on the U.S. West Coast / Hawaii trade lanes.
It is interesting and would seem a little unusual that Matson would announce a Harbors Division decision, instead of the Division themselves.
The SEC promulgated Regulation FD in August of 2000 requiring that all publically traded companies must disclose material information to all investors at the same time.
The filing stated:
On September 20, 2017, Matson Navigation Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Matson, Inc. (“Matson”), confirmed that after speaking with the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation, Harbors Division, it had been told that as part of the Harbor Modernization Program, Pasha Hawaii (“Pasha”) will have exclusive use of the Kapalama Container Terminal upon its completion, and Matson’s lease will be amended to include the portion of Pier 51 currently occupied by Pasha.
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