Hawaii Superferry Launch – One Big Mess!
Posted on Tue, Aug 28, 2007 by Sheila
I hope you’ve not purchased Hawaii Superferry tickets from Oahu to Maui, at least for today and tomorrow. A Maui judge blocked superferry sailings to Maui until the courts can decide whether an environmental assessment is required. Another hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. The launch has been one big mess. Kauai protestors delayed docking for hours on Sunday and Monday. In fact, on Monday, passengers hoping to arrive in Kauai from Honolulu only ended up taking a frustrating nine hour sailing tour which landed them right back on Honolulu.
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I feel sorry for all those who had bought tickets and couldn’t use them. Although, I do understand why they stopped operations. I didn’t realize that an environmental study wasn’t completed prior to the start up.
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Hi Sheila, I thought the Super Ferry sounded like a great idea. But lesson learned. Don’t try new things until all the bugs are worked out. The 9 hour ferry ride would be a bit much, on a vacation, where your trying to fit in a lot of stuff. Tensions were probably pretty high on that ride. Emma
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@ kailani – Yeah, I really feel bad for those folks too. If I remember correctly, back in March, it was determined that an EIS (Environmental Impact Study) would not be required. Here is what one representative had to say about it:
“There are other companies that use our harbors, travel in our waters, and essentially impact the state in the same manner,� wrote Souki, D-Waihee-Wailuku, the Advertiser reported Thursday. “Some carry only passengers, some only cargo such as cars, and some carry produce and other products, including cattle, nursery plants, and other animal and plant life that have the potential of carrying invasive species.
“Some of these companies have been doing business throughout the Islands for close to a century. However, not one of them was required to do an EIS under existing law,� he said.
I really hope something can be worked out that makes everyone happy.
@ Emma – No kidding! That would be a vacation nightmare!
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