Pacific Ocean regional marine carrier Matson welcomed the first of four new ships that will be introduced in its Hawaii service over the next two years, the company said Wednesday.

The Daniel K. Inouye, named in honor of Hawaii's late senior U.S. Senator, is Matson's largest and fastest ship and is also the largest containership ever built in the United States, according to Matson. The ship weighs more than 51,400 metric tons, is 850-feet long, and has container capacity of 3,600 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

The ship's arrival in Honolulu this week marks the start of a nearly $1 billion investment in Matson's Hawaii service, which will include the four new ships as well as a terminal expansion/modernization project at its Sand Island facility in Honolulu, the company said. And in a nod to the environment, the company added that the ships incorporate a number of "green ship technology" features, including a more fuel efficient hull design, dual fuel engines that can be adapted to use liquefied natural gas (LNG), environmentally safe double-hull fuel tanks and fresh water ballast systems.

Honolulu-based Matson serves Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, China and areas of the South Pacific with its fleet of owned and chartered vessels, including containerships, combination container and roll-on/roll-off ships, and custom-designed barges.