Posted on: Tuesday, June 17, 2003

Loss of produce likely as Matson ship breaks down

Associated Press

Matson Navigation Co.'s container ship Matsonia broke down at sea last week and is under tow to the islands, Matson officials said yesterday.

The 760-foot ship suffered a major mechanical breakdown last Tuesday when it was about 700 miles out of Honolulu, en route from Oakland, said Matson Vice President Rich Bliss.

It had been scheduled to reach Honolulu last Wednesday.

The tug Jimmy Smith was dispatched and began on Friday to tow the 30-year-old Matsonia, which is now expected in port Thursday evening for off-loading, Bliss said.

It's expected that although the refrigeration was unaffected by the breakdown, a lot of the containerized produce on the Matsonia will be lost, he said.

Another ship is being brought in to return Matson's Hawai'i-West Coast service back to eight ships, Bliss said.

After the Matsonia is unloaded, it will go into dry dock for repairs, he said.