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Shipping firm Matson Navigation Co. has announced that it will be increasing its bunker fuel surcharge for shipments between the US mainland and Hawaii, Guam and Micronesia.

Matson, Hawaii's largest ocean shipper, said that it will be raising its fuel charge by 3.5 percentage points, from 24 percent to 27.5 percent, for its Hawaii service.

The company will also be upping its fuel surcharge for shipments to Guam/Micronesia by 3.5 percentage points from 25.5 percent to 29 percent.

The surcharge increases will take effect from Sunday, February 7th.

Commenting on the news, Matson Senior Vice President Dave Hoppes said "As many of our customers are aware, fuel prices have risen dramatically in recent months. This is the first fuel surcharge increase Matson has initiated since July 2009. The company's last adjustment was a decrease of four percentage points in October. Unfortunately, in the past several months, fuel costs have increased significantly, necessitating this new upward adjustment."

Hoppes added that if fuel prices continued to rise, the company may need to raise its surcharge again.