Honolulu-based ocean carrier Matson is increasing the frequency of its South Pacific Express (SPX) service to Samoa and American Samoa to 14 days, up from every 28 days, the carrier has confirmed.
The new fortnightly schedule has been made possible by the company’s acquisition of a larger, faster vessel that has been christened Samoana. The vessel has a nominal cargo capacity of 1,103 TEU, 259 TEU more than the vessel it replaces, the 844-TEU Islander.
The SPX service boasts some of the fastest transit times from Hawaii and the US West Coast to the Samoas, according to Matson: 12 days from Long Beach and five-and-a-half days from Honolulu to Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa, with an extra day to Samoa’s capital city, Apia.