Matson Inc., a leading US carrier in the Pacific will take over the services that Reef Shipping has been providing for Tonga and other Pacific islands nations in the New Year.

Matson announced on 26 December in Honolulu that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the primary assets of Reef Shipping.

The assets included four vessels and about 1500 pieces of container equipment.

Reef Shipping, a South Pacific Shipping Company, based in Auckland, New Zealand, for years serviced the core trade lanes from Auckland, New Zealand and Fiji to the islands nations of Nauru, the Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga, Wallis and Futuna, Vanuatu, Tarawa and Majuro.

The financial transaction between Matson and Reef Shipping is expected to be concluded before the end of the year, when Matson will continue to provide the service that Reef Shipping had been providing for Tonga and other Pacific Islands nations.

Dateline Trans-AM Shipping has been the Reef Shipping's agent in Tonga.

Matson, founded in 1882, provides a carrier serive to Hawaii, Guam and Micronesia,and an expedited service from China to Southern California.