Pasha goes green with Ohana-class containerships

M/V George III

Pasha Hawaii is charting a greener course with its Ohana-class containerships now under construction in south Texas.

M/V George III and M/V Janet Marie are scheduled for delivery in late 2020 and early 2021, respectively, from Keppel AmFELS in Brownsville, Texas. The ships will run on clean-burning liquefied natural gas (LNG) from day one. As such, they will be the most environmental-friendly ships engaged in the Jones Act Hawaii trade.

With an operating speed of 23 knots and a capacity of 2,525 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), they’ll be among the fastest, and largest, ships running between Hawaii and the mainland United States. They will join Pasha’s existing fleet of six U.S.-flagged cargo ships.

“These new LNG-powered containerships are unique to our fleet and were tailored to support the unique requirements of the Hawaii market — efficiently made, speed through the water, and adequate capability to support anticipated growth and demand for refrigerated cargo capability,” said George Pasha IV, the chairman, president and chief executive officer of The Pasha Group.

The 774-by-118-foot Ohana-class ships are built from a proprietary design developed by Keppel AmFELS. The ships will be powered by a single MAN B&W 7S80ME-C9.5-GI dual-fuel engine. Three MAN B&W 6L35/44 dual-fuel gensets also will run on LNG.

LNG is derived from traditional natural gas that has been cooled to -162 degrees Celsius. Both ships will surpass IMO 2030 requirements for ocean vessels, with zero sulfur emissions, a 90 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide and 20 percent less carbon dioxide compared to heavy fuel oils, Pasha said.

M/V George III and M/V Janet Marie each will be equipped with two 1,253-cubic-meter LNG fuel tanks on the aft deck. Based on that volume, each of the two ships will have an endurance of 4,800 nautical miles.

By Professional Mariner Staff