Ex-Matson chief plans
rival shipping company

A new ocean carrier serving
Hawaii posted job ads this week

The former chief executive of Matson Navigation Co. has been looking into starting a freight shipping service in Hawaii that would compete with his former company.

C. Bradley Mulholland, who retired Jan. 1, 2004, after more than 38 years with Matson, has held recent preliminary discussions on entering the market with the state Harbors Division and Waldron Steamship Co., which books pier space, according to people associated with those organizations.

Mulholland, who was flying to Northern California from the East Coast yesterday afternoon, didn't return messages left at his home.

A new company, OceanBlue Express Inc., describing itself as a domestic offshore ocean carrier, advertised for jobs on the Yahoo! Web site starting Thursday. Applicants are being sought for sales manager positions in Honolulu, Northern California and Southern California, as well as for pricing manager, marketing communications professional and customer service representatives.

One of the requirements for the sales manager positions is the "ability to attract and retain new customers in the transportation business of customers shipping between CA & HI." The advertisement also seeks experience in arranging transportation services in the retail, military, beverage, grocery and freight-forwarding markets, as well as experience in the transportation of refrigerated cargo.

Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard, which recently supplied Matson with two $110 million container ships, has two other vessels under construction and has been seeking a buyer.

When asked if Kvaerner had been in touch with Mulholland, John Graykowski, senior vice president and general counsel for Kvaerner, said he would have to make "a few phone calls" before commenting. Graykowski later didn't return messages left on his cell phone.

Like Matson, Horizon Lines also offers container-ship service between Hawaii and the West Coast. And Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines will enter the Hawaii market with automobile service beginning in March.

"It's more competition, and competition is good," Waldron Steamship President Bill Thayer said when asked about the prospect of another shipper entering the Hawaii market. "They're going to bring competition and force everybody to become more efficient, and the service is going to improve all the way around."

Barry Fukunaga, deputy director for the state Harbors Division, said he would welcome any new business to the state.

"We did have an inquiry and have had some discussions, but I'd prefer to leave it at that," he said.

OceanBlue Express registered a Web site for itself on April 7, 2004, and has a Kvaerner e-mail listed as the administrative contact, according to register.com. The site, ocean blueexpress.com, is still under construction.

OceanBlue Express is registered in San Ramon, Calif., and incorporated in Delaware, according to California business registration listings. Mulholland lives in nearby Piedmont, Calif.

As a former president at Matson, among other titles, Mulholland knows the Hawaii market. In 2004, Matson posted operating revenue of $850.1 million, a 10 percent rise over the previous year, and had operating profit of $108.3 million, a 16 percent rise from a year earlier.

Matson spokesman Jeff Hull declined to comment about Mulholland. Hull acknowledged that Kvaerner had been unsuccessful in finding a buyer for its two Philadelphia Class CV2600 container ships.

Kvaerner says on its Web site that one of its ships is expected to be completed in the spring of 2005, and the other in early 2006. Two ships of similar design, the MV Manukai and the MV Maunawili, were delivered to Matson in 2003 and 2004, respectively.

Jim Andrasick, president and CEO of Matson, did not return a phone call for comment. Brian Taylor, vice president of Horizon Lines for Hawaii and Guam; and George Pasha III, chairman and CEO of Pasha Hawaii, also could not be reached.