Oslo-listed Philly Shipyard Inc revealed that US-based TOTE Maritime was the company with whom it signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the construction and sale of up to four new containerships intended for the Hawaii trade.
The confirmation came on the heels of an announcement from Saltchuk related to expansion plans of its domestic shipping services to Hawaii under its TOTE Maritime brand (TOTE).
“Philly Shipyard is very excited to have TOTE as its partner under the LOI and fully supports the efforts to introduce new vessels into the Hawaii containership trade to replace aged ships in time to meet new environmental regulations,” Steinar Nerbovik, PSI’s President & CEO said.
PSI has already begun construction of the vessels outlined in the LOI to support their optimal delivery dates.
The boxships are the continuation of the series of two similar 3,600 TEU Aloha Class containerships currently under construction at PSI for the Hawaii trade-lane and are planned for deliveries in 2020 and 2021.
TOTE has four ships in its fleet, two Panamax containerships and two 65,314 GT RORO vessels.