OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 31, 2007--Matson Navigation Company, Inc. (Matson) has completed installation of a new $5 million mobile harbor crane for the port of Kahului on Maui. The new equipment, which is a first for a Neighbor Island port, will strengthen Matson's operations in Kahului by providing a land-based crane for container handling. The crane will complement Matson's container barge service, which utilizes self-equipped rail-mounted cranes, and its roll-on, roll-off service, which, in addition to moving vehicles and other rolling stock, involves discharging and loading containers on chassis via special ramps designed for Matson's vessels. The investment is part of a strategy to improve the overall level of service to and from Hawaii's Neighbor Islands.

"Maui's economic growth in recent years has resulted in increased cargo volumes through its primary port, Kahului, as well as rises in vessel calls by the passenger sector," said Gary North, senior vice president, Pacific. "Our main objective is to explore new ways to promote that growth through service enhancements and port development initiatives. In 2004, we introduced direct long haul ro-ro service to and from Maui and the West Coast, reducing transit time and eliminating the transshipment process for rolling stock in Honolulu. With this new crane, we will now have the capability of expanding this service enhancement to include container operations for our combination ro-ro/container vessels calling at Kahului. In addition, we can improve productivity of our Kahului container barge operations and reduce container transshipment activity in Honolulu."

The mobile crane is 150 feet tall and capable of lifting up to 40 tons of cargo. It was manufactured by Liebherr-Werk Nanzing GmbH (Liebherr) and transported by barge from Rostock, Germany to Kahului.

In addition to the new shoreside crane for Maui, Matson recently dry docked its two Neighbor Island container barges, Haleakala and Mauna Loa; the project included enhancing the barges' crane controls to improve efficiency and adding capacity by reconfiguring the cell guides.

"All of these enhancements are designed to improve operational productivity, lift capacity and container velocity at the Kahului terminal," North added. "These initiatives will deliver service improvements to our customers and maximize the efficiency of our Maui operations."

Matson's Neighbor Island service encompasses all of Hawaii's major ports: Kahului, Maui; Hilo and Kawaihae, Big Island of Hawaii; and Nawiliwili, Kauai. Cargo moving to and from Kahului represents the largest segment of this market. Matson's fleet includes two container barges and one ro-ro barge designed specifically for Hawaii's Neighbor Island ports.

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

CONTACT: Matson Navigation Company, Inc.
Jeff Hull, 510-628-4534 (Public Relations)
JHull@matson.com

SOURCE: Matson Navigation Company, Inc.