The Maui enters Matson's service in 1978. That same year, it is announced that newer Matson vessels would revert to the Hawaiian names of Matson vessels in the 1920s and 1930s. The Hawaiian Enterprise became the Manukai and the Hawaiian Progress became the Manulani. Matson awards Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Pennsylvania a contract to build another 38,800-ton containership. Named the Kauai, sister ship to the Maui, it entered the Hawaii service in 1979.
