OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 11, 2005--Qiang Gao has been appointed director, Asia for Matson Navigation Company in China. Based in Shanghai, Gao will oversee all aspects of Matson's new weekly service from Ningbo and Shanghai, China to Long Beach, California, which will commence in February 2006.

In this new position, Gao will have an ongoing role in all Matson activities in China, including sales, customer service, government affairs, international corporate compliance and operations. He will be responsible for the overall operations in Shanghai and Ningbo and serve as the primary interface with our agents in both ports.

Matson's new China service will offer customers a number of service advantages, including competitive transit times, efficient throughput at our single-user Long Beach facility, dedicated customer service and seamless intermodal transportation through the Matson subsidiary, Matson Integrated Logistics. Matson will provide direct service from Shanghai to Long Beach, which will allow the region's customers to benefit from the fastest transit time in the trade. Matson has been serving the Pacific since 1882 and is recognized as one of the leading U.S.-flag carriers.

Gao joined Matson's market planning department at Matson's Oakland headquarters in 2003. Prior to Matson, Gao had over 15 years of experience in international shipping, logistics, and cross-border trade in China and the U.S. He previously worked for the U.S. companies Meet World Trade, Booz Allen and Hamilton and Bechtel, and for Chinese companies DiChain Systems and Tianjin Marine Shipping Company. Gao has a PhD in transportation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A U.S. citizen, Gao was born and raised in China and speaks Madarin Chinese fluently.

"Qiang Gao is the key individual responsible for establishing Matson's presence in Shanghai and Ningbo," said Dave Hoppes, senior vice president, ocean services. "Given his understanding of both Matson's business and service objectives and Chinese culture and protocol, along with his education and experience in the transportation industry, Gao will ensure Matson launches a world class operation in China."

Matson provides ocean transportation, intermodal and logistics services, primarily in U.S. domestic markets. Matson is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. of Honolulu (NASDAQ:ALEX).

CONTACT: Matson Navigation
Jeff Hull, 510-628-4534 (U.S.)
JHull@matson.com
Qiang Gao, 86-13916243881 (China)
QGao@matson.com

SOURCE: Matson Navigation