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Hawai'i Superferry -2007 Articles

 

Supeferry's rough wake


Ferry halts for third day
12.28.07
Strong winds and high seas have pushed the Hawaii Superferry back into port for the third straight day today and could keep it there tomorrow, officials said. While ferry officials canceled hundreds of passengers' trips between Maui and Oahu this week, they say that they expected days like this during the month of December.
"When we came into this market, we knew that there would be days that we would be canceling due to sea conditions," said Terry O'Halloran, Superferry director of business development. "From the data we've gathered, December historically has the highest sea conditions." O'Halloran declined to say how much money the Superferry is losing because of the cancellations.

Superferry Finally Sails
12.20.07
But as the high-speed vessel neared its destination, the idyllic excursion transformed into a spectacle never before seen on Maui. A swarm of helicopters hovered over the crowded harbor as U.S. Coast Guard patrol boats knifed through the choppy waters, circling a floating orange perimeter fence surrounding Pier 2. Flanked by Maui Police Department and Coast Guard officials, more than 100 residents descended on Kahului Harbor with an arsenal of homemade banners and signs.

Riding the Superferry
Read two viewpoints from people who gave the ferry a trial run, and check out some photographs of the Kahului Harbor activity when the ferry came to Maui.

View the Coast Guard map and rules of the security zone that will be enforced whenever the ferry is due to arrive at the harbor.

Superferry protesters shift focus
12.16.07
Protesters of the Hawaii Superferry made their largest showing yet Saturday morning and likely their last for the foreseeable future, organizers said. Irene Bowie, executive director of Maui Tomorrow, announced that they instead intend to contest the high-speed ferry's operations with an appeal to the Hawaii Supreme Court - which previously ruled that an environmental assessment should be completed on the ferry operation using state harbors.

Damage at Kahului Harbor forces a second cancellation of the Superferry's Maui route
12.05.07
The Hawaii Superferry was forced to cancel its startup Oahu-Maui run for the second time due to damage to Kahului Harbor improvements from wave action. This time, mooring posts tied by lines to the docking barge were pulled from the pier by unusually high waves Monday. It will take at least three days to reset just one of the posts.

Rally for Maui – Let Your Voice Be Heard has been rescheduled to Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007.  Due to an operations delay Hawaii Superferry announced today that damage to their barge in Kahului  Harbor is greater than previously thought and the ferry’s start date has been moved back. Updated information on Rally for Maui will be available on this site and at www.savekahuluiharbor.com
(see also Maui rally planned to oppose Hawaii ferry)
(view the Coast Guard map and rules of the proposed security zone)

Rally at Maui

11.28.07 – Security for ferry upsets protesters
Hawaii Superferry opponents are crying foul over the Coast Guard's security plans for the ferry's return to Maui next week. Maui Tomorrow Executive Director Irene Bowie said the security zone around the Superferry is broader than she expected and appears to be overkill given the absence of civil disobedience on the Valley Isle.
"I'm stunned by the heavy-handedness of this," she said. "I think with this there's going to be a lot more people alienated."
Vessels and surfboards could be confiscated and violators arrested on a felony charge if a security zone is breached around the Superferry as it completes its Oahu-Maui transit into Kahului Harbor starting Dec. 6, the Coast Guard warned yesterday in announcing security plans for the ferry's return.
A protest at the harbor is scheduled for Dec. 8. Gov. Linda Lingle said she does not have concerns about protests on Maui. "Generally speaking, I think people will respect the law," she said.

11.16.07 – Hawaii Superferry readying for protests
As the Hawaii Superferry prepares to sail again after winning challenges in court and at the state Capitol, the company now faces its most daunting obstacle -- more protests in the water. The Coast Guard has been thrust into the middle of the emotional showdown and is now being forced into the difficult, unusual and possibly dangerous task of arresting Americans. Coast Guard personnel previously failed to provide safe passage for the vessel as protesters heckled and splashed them with water. But the Coast Guard has repeatedly warned it will take immediate action next time around.

Rally at Maui


11.16.07 – Superferry's Kahului barge breaks loose
Just after a Maui judge said the ferry Alakai could soon resume operating in Kahului Harbor on Wednesday, the docking barge that serves the ferry snapped a mooring cable and began pounding the end of Pier 2. Only minor damage was inflicted before harbor tugs were able to first stabilize the barge and then move it up against the side of Pier 2, away from the end of the dock where an early-winter swell apparently was more than it could handle.
The incident opened a question about the viability of the ferry operations at Kahului, which is subject to severe north swells during the winter months. The occasions were reckoned to be few. But the huge barge got in trouble in the first north swell it encountered, and it wasn't a big swell

11.15.07 – Ferry to get back in the flow
Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza lifted an injunction yesterday against the Hawaii Superferry, clearing the way for it to resume operation. Cardoza declined to overturn recent state legislation authorizing large-capacity ferry vessels such as the Superferry to operate in Hawaii during an environmental study.
Attorney Isaac Hall, representing citizen groups Maui Tomorrow, the Sierra Club and the Kahului Harbor Coalition, said his groups might appeal Cardoza's decision to the Hawaii Supreme Court.
(see also – Politicians applaud judge's ruling and Special legislation? Judge didn't think so)

11.07.07 – Maui judge to hear Superferry motion on Nov. 14
Nov. 14 is the earliest the Hawaii Superferry could be cleared to resume sailings to Maui. At a hearing today in Maui Circuit Court, Judge Joseph Cardoza picked that date to consider whether to dissolve a preliminary injunction that has kept the high-speed, interisland ferry from calling at Kahului Harbor.

11.01.07 – Superferry might return in 2 weeks
Legislators approve measure, protesters say they will be back
The state Legislature gave final approval yesterday to a bill allowing the Hawaii Superferry to sail while an environmental study is completed. Gov. Linda Lingle is expected to sign it, and the Superferry's top executive says he is hopeful the service can be running again by Nov. 15.
Superferry Chief Executive Officer John Garibaldi says there still are some procedural hurdles to overcome, but the company will immediately begin work on its restart plan.
A Kauai protest leader said his group expects the bill will result in more crowds and more protesters when the Superferry returns to the neighbor islands.

Rally at Maui

11.01.01 – House gives final OK to Hawaii Superferry bill
The state House yesterday gave final approval to a bill to help Hawaii Superferry resume service as several lawmakers asked Gov. Linda Lingle and Superferry executives to join them in trying to heal divisions over the project. The House voted 39-11 in favor of allowing the ferry to resume service under operating conditions to protect whales and deter the spread of invasive species while the state conducts an environmental review. The state Senate passed the bill 20-5 on Monday. Lingle is expected to sign the bill into law. Superferry executives hope to hire back the 249 workers furloughed last month and restart ferry service by Nov. 15.

10.31.07 – Legislature bails out Superferry – Casting sustainability aside, the legislature exempts high-speed ferry from keystone environmental review law
The Hawai`i State Legislature, operating on a threat from Hawai`i Superferry that they will leave the state if they are not granted a special privilege to circumvent Hawaii’s environmental law, passed a bill permitting the Superferry to begin operations before an environmental review is complete. Throughout the special session called by Governor Linda Lingle expressly to bail out the Superferry, the Sierra Club argued that the session sets an unfair and dangerous precedent, damages Hawaii’s three-decade old environmental protection act, and may expose Hawaii’s environment to irreparable harms.

10.30.07 – Final vote for Hawaii Superferry nears
A compromise bill that would allow Hawaii Superferry to resume service while the state conducts an environmental review is ready for a final vote tomorrow after the state Senate approved it yesterday and state House committees moved it to the House floor.
The state Senate voted 20-5 in favor of the bill but several senators voted with reservations because they were uncomfortable about coming back into special session to overturn the courts and help Superferry. The House committees sent the Senate's version to the floor without any changes, but only after lawmakers spent much of the afternoon and evening questioning Gov. Linda Lingle and the Superferry's president on the circumstances that led to a special session.

10.23.07 – House passes Hawaii Superferry bill as is
The state House yesterday defeated a proposed amendment to a Hawaii Superferry bill that would have required the ferry to slow down to under 13 knots in shallow waters to protect whales and wash the undercarriages of vehicles to prevent the spread of invasive species.
The amendment by state Rep. Hermina Morita also would have required Superferry, instead of the state, to pay for an environmental impact statement that would be regulated by the state's Public Utilities Commission.
But the House rejected Morita's amendment and passed the original Superferry bill that was introduced at the start of special session, moving it to the Senate.

10.23.07 – Maui opposes Hawaii Superferry bailout
A state Senate panel yesterday witnessed an eruption of pent-up anger and frustration from people on both sides of the Hawaii Superferry controversy. A raucous crowd of about 400 attended the second stop of a three-island series of informational meetings on a draft bill that would allow the interisland ferry to operate while the state conducts an environmental study.
The Maui meeting was particularly charged because the draft bill and a special session expected to be convened to pass it would undo a successful 2 1/2-year court challenge filed by Maui residents pushing for an environmental assessment.
Read a report from inside the Maui hearing on Tuesday, 10/23

Rally at Maui


10.19.07 – Group pushes rules on ferry
Maui environmentalists who successfully sued to stop the Hawaii Superferry are proposing 29 conditions that the Legislature must include in any new law allowing the Superferry to resume service. Proposed conditions include requiring passengers to say if they were using the Superferry to go camping on another island, and then only allowing passengers who have permits to camp in federal state or county parks to be allowed.
Also, the Superferry would be required to post a $40 million bond to pay the state for the money owed it for state harbor improvements in case the ferry leaves the state.
Senate President Colleen Hanabusa met with the environmentalists yesterday but did not promise to include any of the conditions in the bill now under consideration. Republican Senate leader Fred Hemmings called the environmentalists' proposal "ludicrous."
The Legislature plans to go into special session next week to consider a bill to allow the Superferry Alakai to operate while an environmental study is done.

10.19.07 – Activists oppose Hawaii Superferry reprieve
Environmentalists from Maui warned state lawmakers yesterday of the potential for irreparable harm if they allow Hawaii Superferry to resume service before an environmental review is conducted.
"We are totally opposed to this bill. We do not want to see it passed," said Isaac Hall, the attorney for Maui Tomorrow, which was among the groups that persuaded the state Supreme Court that an environmental review of the project is necessary. A Maui court ruled that Superferry could not use Kahului Harbor on Maui until the review is completed.

10.14.07 – Hawaii ferry spent $175,000 on lobbying
Hawaii Superferry officials spent more than $175,000 over three years on lobbying and campaign contributions, including dozens of donations to Gov. Linda Lingle, U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie and other key state legislators.
"You're talking about an extremely large sum of money even by national standards," said Craig Holman, a campaign finance expert with Public Citizen, a Washington, D.C.-based consumer advocacy group. "At the very least, they are trying to buy access, and at the worst they are trying to buy influence."

10.09.07 – Maui judge: Superferry can't operate during environment study
A Maui judge said Tuesday he won't allow Hawaii Superferry to sail between Honolulu and Kahului while the state studies the environmental impact of the interisland ferry service.
Hawaii Superferry officials have said they would have to leave the state if they're not allowed to operate while the environmental review is carried out. But Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza said state law requires that an environmental study be conducted beforehand.
“The purpose of the law is to protect the environment, not to protect economic interests,” Cardoza said.
(read Cardoza's full decision by downloading a PDF file here)

10.09.07 – Hawaii Superferry's woes likely to continue
Even if today's Maui court ruling allows Hawaii Superferry to resume service to Kahului Harbor, the company may still face stormy seas. Maui groups worried about the potential environmental impact of the Hawaii Superferry so far have prevailed by relying on the state's legal system. But if Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza sides with the company and the state Department of Transportation, observers say the vessel likely will be met by protests when it reaches Kahului.
"I can tell you the Superferry certainly would not be greeted with open arms. I don't know if people would jump into the harbor and block them," said Karen Chun, a canoe paddler who has long been involved in issues surrounding the state's development of Kahului Harbor.
"There is a level of anger not just directed at the Superferry, but it could be a catalyzing force."

10.07.07 – No smooth political sailing for Hawaii ferry
As state lawmakers discuss a possible special session to help Hawaii Superferry, several observers said they cannot recall a comparable example where the Legislature returned to save a development project in the midst of such intense public controversy.

09.27.07 – Superferry heading to high court -- again
Legislative leaders want to see the Hawaii Superferry succeed so are poised for a special session
Kauai group drops suit, will pursue appeal
Transportation chief frets over ferry setback

09.27.07 – Hawaii harbor users could get ferry tab
If the Hawaii Superferry leaves the state, other harbor users will have to pick up the tab for $40 million in ferry-related improvements at four ports, according to Department of Transportation officials.

09.16.07 – Superferry sets its own deadline
The company's CEO says information is needed to determine whether it can survive

09.15.07 – Big Island man objects in Superferry procurement issue
Two men have filed objections over the Transportation Department's request for exemption from the state's procurement code in awarding a contract to conduct the environmental assessment for the Superferry's use of state harbors. On Thursday, Jeff Sacher of Kawaihae and Rob Parsons of Haiku filed the objection with the state procurement officer through their lawyer, Wailuku attorney Lance D. Collins.

09.15.07 – Maui ban on Hawaii Superferry extended
Judge Joseph Cardoza yesterday agreed to extend the ban on Hawaii Superferry's use of Kahului Harbor, via a preliminary injunction, at least until he reaches a decision. Cardoza had issued a temporary restraining order to that effect on Aug. 27, but such orders cannot be extended beyond 20 days. Although a similar case is pending in Kaua'i Circuit Court, the vessel is being allowed to resume service to Nawiliwili Harbor on Sept. 26.

09.12.07 – Governer Lingle stresses public safety in Superferry's resumption of service to Kaua‘i
Click here to read the summary of state law consequences
Governor Linda Lingle today announced today that the Hawai‘i Superferry will resume service to Kaua‘i starting Wednesday, September 26 on a temporary daylight schedule. The Governor also stressed that federal, state and county law enforcement agencies will strictly enforce a temporary security zone established at Nawiliwili Harbor by the United States Coast Guard. 

09.11.07 – Biologist says risk of Superferry colliding with whale is 'very high'

09.10.07 – Hawaii Superferry a threat to whales, court witness says
Marine biologist Hannah Bernard was the sole witness to testify today in the first day of a Maui Circuit Court hearing to decide whether the Hawaii Superferry can operate while the state conducts an environmental assessment of ferry-related projects at four state harbors. Bernard said the Superferry's 350-foot catamaran and other large, fast-moving vessels are a particular threat to humpback whales and other species.

09.03.07 – Failure to complete study set Superferry on doomed course
The Hawaii Superferry presents a classic case of how not to do business in Hawaii. Three years ago the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and Kahului Harbor Coalition asked the Hawaii Superferry and the Lingle administration to complete an environmental review of the Superferry. Unknown environmental and public safety risks, concerned neighbor island communities and a clear reading of the law demanded it. The review would have occurred while other planning proceeded. The administration and Superferry corporation, however, decided to gamble and chose to skip this mandatory environmental disclosure process. A unanimous Supreme Court decision – announced just hours after oral argument – called their bluff.

08.23.07 – Hawaii Superferry Stopped in Nawiliwili Harbor

Superferry ordered to do environmental assessment
08.23.07
The Hawai'i Supreme Court this afternoon ruled that the state should have conducted an environmental study on its improvements to island harbors for the Hawaii Superferry operation scheduled to start next week. The decision is a major legal setback for the Superferry, but Superferry lawyers were not immediately available for comment as to whether the operations will start as scheduled on Tuesday.

08.15.07 – Aloha, Citizens for Superferry Sanity;
 We have exchanged information, inspiration, and fellowship during the past two and a half years as this big-money, pet project has made its way like a snake through the grass, heading for our shores.  It has been great to share mana'o with so many worthwhile, dedicated, creative and fun-loving fellow citizens.
 In a week the Hawaii State Supreme Court will be hearing our oral arguments on the main point we have all been making. This misbegotten beast of a project needs to obey the law and comply with Chapter 343 HRS regarding environmental review. The fact that the Court is requesting oral arguments is a positive sign that our legal appeal is being taken seriously. Also in our favor is the fact that we were able to get a favorable declaratory ruling from the State's own Environmental Council in February that an environmental review of the Hawaii Superferry was needed.
 Those of us on Maui who are the plaintiffs in these legal appeals now need your kokua. The four groups which have been involved in these efforts have raised over $30,000 for four separate legal efforts.  We will need to augment that with another $20,000 soon.
 We appreciate that some of you have generously contributed to these legal efforts in the past. We also appreciate that some of you are contemplating your own legal actions. We, however, humbly request your support in this time of impending resolution of our legal challenges.
 If you are willing and able to donate (it's tax deductible!), please send contributions (check or MasterCard/Visa) to: 
Maui Tomorrow Foundation Inc., PO Box 299, Makawao, Hawaii 96768
Or contact Irene Bowie, Maui Tomorrow Executive Director
(phone: 808.268.0303 or e-mail:  director@maui-tomorrow.org )
   Mahalo nui loa and IMUA!
 Lucienne de Naie & Ron Sturtz, for Maui Tomorrow

07.15.07 – Hawaii Superferry foes eager to go to court
With harbor improvements for the Hawaii Superferry reported to be on track, the only apparent threat to the start of the interisland ferry service is two pending court cases with hearings set for next month. Both challenges involve questions about the need for adequate environmental impact studies on the publicly funded port projects for the new service, which will transport passengers and vehicles between Honolulu, Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island. The best hope for the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and the Kahului Harbor Coalition to delay Superferry operations rests with an appeal of a July 2005 ruling by Maui Circuit Court Judge Joseph Cardoza.

07.02.07 – Superferry case goes to Hawai‘i Supreme Court
The Hawaii Supreme Court will hear Oral Argument on whether the Hawai'i Superferry was illegally granted an exemption from Chapter 343 of the Hawai'i revised statutes which requires an Environmental Impact Statement for projects using public funds. This is an appeal of 2nd Circuit Court Judge Cardoza's earlier ruling. The case has been scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on August 15, 2007.

05.31.07 – Maui Tomorrow and County of Maui Move Forward with their Case
Judge Joel August ruled that the Hawaii Department of Transportation's FONSI (Finding of NO significant impact) for the changes at Kahului Harbor was insufficient.  He stated specifically that the examination of traffic issues was inadequate. 
This is the case in which Maui Tomorrow, the Kahului Harbor Coalition and the County of Maui have joined together as plaintiffs, charging that the State's Environmental Assessment was incomplete.  Judge August asked that the parties come before him on Thursday, August 2 to determine what  relief measures can be required.
Although this decision does not directly involve the Hawaii Superferry "ship", the necessary traffic study will have to examine the impact of the HSF operations bringing up to 280 vehicles into the affected area two time each day (mid-mornings and evenings), and the loading of up to an additional 280 vehicles onto the ferry.
Furthermore, it is expected that there will be many other vehicles (taxis, busses, rental vehicles, etc.) delivering and picking up Hawaii Superferry passengers.  The traffic study will also have to consider the closing of the road between Pier 2 and Pier 1 because that was caused by the Superferry's need for space.  Finally, to get a proper analysis of traffic impacts, it will be necessary to include the huge 450 residential housing unit and commercial center that is soon to be constructed on the site of the Old Kahului Shopping Center (where Ah Fooks burnt down).
Read more about this issue: State traffic assessment fails a test and see photos at: Anti-Superferry demonstrators clog Maui traffic

03.30.07 – Souki again sinks Superferry EIS
Maui Rep. Joe Souki has blocked a second bill in the 2007 Legislature that would have required an environmental impact statement on the Hawaii Superferry, repeating his argument that it's unfair to pick on a single harbor user. Souki, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, refused to schedule Senate Bill 702 for a hearing by the committee, effectively killing the bill. It would be wasteful since the state already will prepare an impact statement on the Kahului Harbor 2030 master plan, he said.

03.11.07 – Kahului Harbor EIS needed a decade ago
An environmental impact statement is needed to identify and propose mitigative measures on traffic increases on congested Kahului roadways, on the need for space in land-tight Kahului and Lihue, on a need for safety measures to separate cargo from passengers, on the potential for introduction of unwanted pests, not only aboard the Superferry but in cargo and on passengers from cruise ships, overseas containers and Young Brothers barges.

03.09.07 – Revised bill could delay Superferry
First hailed as a compromise on the controversial Hawaii Superferry, a bill that passed the Senate is now being called "problematic" by ferry officials. And if it becomes law, they said, the interisland service cannot start this summer.

03.06.07 – Superferry EIS is right and legal thing to do
By Sens. J. Kalani English, Gary L. Hooser, Russell S. Kokubun and Shan S. Tsutsui
With the Hawai'i Superferry scheduled to begin operations in July, a cursory review of the Neighbor Island harbor facilities shows that negligible improvements have been made to these areas. There are no bathrooms, no ticket booths, no security screening areas and no vehicular "wash down" facilities. At Kahului and Nawiliwili there will be a "tent" put up as a passenger holding area, and portable toilets will be provided. There will be no parking provided at all, and minimal, if any, improvements made to the adjacent roadway infrastructure.

02.25.07 – Refuting the Myths: Hawaii  Superferry facts  add  clarity  to  the  murky  debate
by Ron Sturtz, President of Maui Tomorrow Foundation, Inc
Many people have asked that I provide a factual overview of the potential environmental impacts of the Hawaii Superferry, and the status of current legal challenges.  I hope that the following facts - in response to a few well-intentioned and passionate, but misinformed letters, editorials and news reports – will be helpful to the discussion.

02.23.07 – State Environmental Council Issues Opinion: Superferry Exemption from EIS is wrong
The State Environmental Council, the advisory commission to the Office of Environmental Quality Control, issued an opinion on Thursday that “the State Department of Transportation erred when it granted to the Hawaii Superferry an exemption from the requirement to do an Environmental Impact Statement.” In a 9:1 vote, with one abstention, the Council stated that the exemption granted by the DOT failed to take into consideration the cumulative and secondary environmental impacts of the Hawaii Superferry project.

02.23.07 – Hawaii Superferry Operational Plan & Commitments

02.15.07 – 'Big concerns' over Superferry remain
A joint Senate committee approved a bill requiring an environmental impact statement be prepared on the Hawaii Superferry, although senators said significant legal issues need to be addressed. Senate Bill 1276 was approved by a joint session of the transportation and environment committees, after the committees went to Maui and Kauai last weekend to receive public comment that was virtually unanimous in favor of requiring an EIS.

02.12.07 – Maui testifiers unanimous, want EIS for Superferry
Public misgivings about this summer's scheduled launch of the Hawaii Superferry resurfaced Saturday during a joint Senate committee meeting while a bill to demand an environmental study of the interisland ferry appeared to pick up steam. With public testimony statewide on a bill to require an environmental impact statement for the ferry running 13-to-1 in favor, Maui state Sens. J. Kalani English and Shan Tsutsui predicted Senate Bill 1276 would advance out of the Senate Transportation and International Affairs and Energy and Environment committees en route to debate on the Senate floor.

Rally at Maui


02.11.07 – More On Super Shibai
Senator Gary Hooser's blog offers comments on Superferry

02.10.07 – EIS has strong support from Kaua‘i
The majority of residents who testified at a meeting on Kauai threw their support behind a Senate bill that would require Hawaii Superferry conduct a detailed environmental impact statement before beginning ferry operations in July. More than 120 people crowded into the historic County Building to hear all or part of the Senate committee hearing convened to discuss the bill. Those attending voiced concern the ferries might collide with federally protected marine life, increase traffic congestion, and bring more crime, homeless people and drugs to Kaua'i.

02.08.07 – Senators told ship could hurt humpbacks
A state Senate joint committee was warned Wednesday of the likelihood that the Hawaii Superferry would strike and injure humpback whales during normal operations between the islands. An expert witness brought in by the Pacific Whale Foundation provided data on what the effects of the ferry operations could be, said Sen. Shan Tsutsui, whose Central Maui district includes Kahului Harbor.

Pacific Whale Foundation Testifies to Protect Whales
Pacific Whale Foundation President and Founder Greg Kaufman traveled to Honolulu to testify before two Hawaii State Senate Committees on the need for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prior to allowing operation of the Hawaii Superferry. Kaufman's testimony before the Senate Transportation and International Affairs Committee, and the Energy and Environment Commiteee, was in support of Senate Bill 1276, which would require an EIS for the Superferry.

01.19.07 – Who will win: Hawaii Superferry or four state senators?
This week, shipbuilder Austal USA will launch the first of two 353-foot aluminum catamaran ferries in Mobile, Alabama for a series of open sea trials. They will deliver the first vessel to Hawaii Superferry in early spring. Also this week, the state Legislature begins its 2007 session. Four outer-island state senators will be sponsoring legislation to require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before the inter-island fast-ferry venture commences, currently projected for this summer.

01.14.07 - Superferry to launch Thursday
This week will mark a milestone for Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama when it launches the first of two Hawaii Superferry craft from its south ship shed on the Mobile River. Work is under way in Mobile on the second vessel, scheduled for delivery in early 2009.

01.07.07 - Superferry review sought
Four influential Neighbor Island state senators, who believe Hawai'i Superferry has not convincingly explained its possible effect on the Islands, will try to require an environmental impact statement before the scheduled launch of ferry service between O'ahu, Maui and Kaua'i in July. The senators want a more thorough review of the Superferry even if it means delaying the launch.