Hawaii Superferry Superfiasco: Kauai Shutdown, Customers Stranded, Boat Service's Fate Uncertain
Where: Statewide || Grouped in: Statewide Any Kine || Tagged:
It's a pretty sad saga at this point. The Hawaii Superferry was a ballyhooed solution to expensive and inconvenient interisland travel in Hawaii. Bring your car seats and your bikes and boards! No need to pay ridiculous fares to fly on the local duopoly of Hawaiian and Aloha Airlines. Alas, if it were only so simple.
A judge on Maui shut down Superferry Service to Kahului earlier this week, spoiling the Labor Day plans of thousands of locals who had swamped phone banks in snapping up introductory offers of $5 one-way tix for people and vehicles on the big boats. Then hundreds of protesters on surfboards blocked the arrival of the Superferry in Nawiliwili, Kauai. The company announced it was canceling future voyages to Kauai, stranding many passengers who came over with their cars and will now need to ship them back via the interisland barge (at something like $100 per pop). Not to mention the not so minor inconvenience. It's almost surreal. Me, I think the Superferry is a good idea. The environmental impact is minor compared to that of cruise ships. The service will help local farmers, who need a cheaper way to transport their produce quickly and easily. And I welcome all competition for interisland travel. The way things look right now, the Superferry had better have super-deep pockets to weather this storm. Partly complicit in the blame is the Hawaii State Government which told the company it did not need an environmental impact assessment before starting operations. Um, OK. That's not setting yourself up for a lawsuit?
Image via Planet Kauai
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Comments
Charley Foster said:
I think the state was caught off guard by the breadth of opposition to the project. I’m sure they figured the hard core of the the environmental movement would get active, but I don’t think they predicted the broader opposition from outside those usual suspects. Among those who oppose the Superferry on Kauai, I’d say most are not honestly motivated by environmental concerns. Instead, complaints about the project tend to center on fears that it will make traffic much worse, that it will bring in undesirable people and drugs, and that it will bring in the mongoose - in that order. The environmental angle just represents the most likely avenue to scuttle, or at least postpone, the project.
—08/30/07