Hawaii Superferry was a Hawaii-based transportation company that provided passenger and vehicle transportation between Honolulu Harbor on the island of Oahu and Kahului Harbor on Maui. Legal issues over environmental impact statements and protests from residents of Maui and Kauai temporarily delayed the implementation of service, but service between Oahu and Maui began in December 2007. The company had hoped to return service to Nawiliwili Harbor on Kauai and additionally planned to eventually provide service to Kawaihae Harbor on the Big Island.
Ferry operations were suspended in March 2009 after the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that a state law allowing the Superferry to operate without a second complete environmental impact statement was unconstitutional. The company went bankrupt as a result of these actions preventing service in Hawaii. On July 2, 2009 a Delaware Bankruptcy Court granted the company's motion to abandon both the ships Alakai and Huakai, ending all possibilities that the company might return to Hawaii; the ships were bought by the US Maritime Administration in 2010. The United States Navy eventually purchased the craft for a total of $35M, a small fraction of their original $180M cost.
Vessels
The vessel used by Hawaii Superferry was an aluminum-hulled catamaran with drive-on / drive-off vehicle capability or fast ferry service. It is designed and built in the United States Mobile, AL by Austal USA, a division of the world's largest fast-ferry builder, Australia-based shipbuilder Austal. The vessel is powered by environmentally clean MTU Friedrichshafen engines running on ultra-low sulfur diesel using waterjet propulsion which the company claimed will minimize impact to marine mammals. It was capable of transporting up to 866 passengers and 282 subcompact cars.
The first ship, Alakai, arrived in Honolulu Harbor on June 30, 2007. The second ship, Huakai, was scheduled for completion in 2009, but due to state court ruling halting service, Huakai was abandoned along with Alakai.
History
Private steamships and ferries were the only way of traveling between the islands from the 19th century until the 1950s and they have returned twice since statehood. The first attempt to re-establish service was the vehicle ferries in 1959-1960s between Oahu, Maui and Big Island—aboard which surfer Eddie Aikau moved with his family from Maui to Oahu. The second attempt was made by Seaflite, which operated fast 50 knot hydrofoils between the major islands in the mid-1970s. There is currently only one passenger ferry service remaining in Hawaii, from the island of Maui (Lahaina) and Lanai (Manele). The route is operated daily by Expeditions, a company based in Lahaina.
The concept of the Superferry was founded in 2001 and first announced by founders Timothy Dick, John Garibaldi, and Robert "Terry" White in September 2003 after more than two years of planning. Hawaii Superferry stated its plans to operate a daily service between the newly built interisland ferry terminal at Pier 19 in Honolulu Harbor to Kahului on Maui and Nawiliwili on Kauai, with later expansion of service to Kawaihae near Kona on the Big Island. The company claimed fares for a family trip to be similar to the equivalent airfare, car rental, and parking.
In January 2004, the company formed a partnership with Austal to build two high-speed catamarans. Construction on the first ship began in June 2004. Meanwhile, the company secured its first investors, including Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Grove Farm on Kauai, and a MARAD loan guarantee of $140 million
Inaugural voyage
The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled on August 23, 2007 that the state Department of Transportation had erred in not requiring a second environmental impact assessment for harbor improvements at Kahului Harbor, reversing an earlier ruling in 2005 by Maui Circuit Court Judge Joseph Cardoza. Superferry then announced that it would accelerate its launch to August 26, 2007, two days earlier than its originally scheduled launch date.
Service began with inaugural $5 fares. The inaugural voyages were sold out. The voyage to Maui was smooth and uneventful with a few environmental protesters observing peacefully at Kahului Harbor. However, about a dozen protesters on surfboards blockaded the ferry at Nawiliwili Harbor on Kauai. The Coast Guard cleared the ferry's path after 90 minutes. Upon docking, protesters vandalized cars and confronted passengers, including Kauai residents. Several protesters were arrested.