Hawaii Superferry Alakai, docking in Honolulu Harbor on June 30.

The Hawaii Superferry is Hawaiʻi's first ferry transport with daily service from Honolulu to Kahului, Maui and Nawiliwili, Kauai beginning September 2007. ^[1] The private company is based in Oahu, Hawaiʻi. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Official language(s) English, Hawaiian Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Area  Ranked 43rd  - Total 10,931 sq mi (29,311 km²)  - Width n/a miles (n/a km)  - Length 1,522 miles (2,450 km)  - % water 41. ... The ferryboat Dongan Hills, filled with commuters, about to dock at a New York City pier, circa 1945. ... Kahului is the largest town on the Hawaiian island of Maui and is located along the north shore of central Maui. ... For other uses, see Maui (disambiguation). ... Kauai (Hawaiian IPA pron. ... OÊ»ahu (usually Oahu outside Hawaiian and Hawaiian English), the Gathering Place, is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous island in the State of HawaiÊ»i. ... Official language(s) English, Hawaiian Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Area  Ranked 43rd  - Total 10,931 sq mi (29,311 km²)  - Width n/a miles (n/a km)  - Length 1,522 miles (2,450 km)  - % water 41. ...

The company will eventually utilize two 349-foot double-hulled ships capable of transporting nearly 900 passengers and 300 cars with the second ship scheduled for completion in 2009. The ship, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows offering panoramic views, sofas and family seating, and flat-screen TVs and video games.

On June 30, the fist ship, the Alakai docked in Honolulu Harbor. ^[2] is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

On Tuesday August 28, 2007 the company suspended all services to Kauai indefinitely due to protestors who blocked the entrance to the harbor. The protestor's concern is that a ferry of this size will, traveling at speeds of about 30 mph, strike and kill whales during its voyages. Unlike large cruise liners that push whales and other marine animals away with minimal harm^{[citation needed]}, the ferry is capable of directly striking whales and other large mammals and ultimately killing them. A few weeks later a Kauai Judge said the ferry will be allowed to return the island.

On Friday September 14, 2007 the company said if the ship will not be able to run within six weeks it will leave Hawaii.

Inaugural voyage

On Sunday August 26th, 2007, the Hawaii Superferry set sail for Kahului, Maui. The ship was sold out for passengers and cars at $5 per person and vehicle. Smooth sailing was in effect until the Superferry docked in Maui with protesters in site. It was no big deal compared to the Superferry stopping out of Nawiliwili Harbor on Kaua'i. The Superferry met with three dozen surfers blocking the entrance to the harbor. It took the U.S. Coast Guard 90 minutes to clear the path so the Alakai [HSF] to dock

Facts

• Environmental-friendly ship-design does not use ballast tanks, which may transport invasive species from one body of water to another. ^{[citation needed]}
• Ferry utilizes an independent waterjet-propulsion system minimizing the effect on marine mammals.^{[citation needed]}
• Power by MTU engines.
• On August 27, 2007 the Alakai Superferry vessel was forced to turn back from a scheduled landing in Nawiliwili harbor on Kaua'i after citizens blockaded the harbor for the second day in a row. Superferry riders were stranded at sea for 9 hours during the journey.
• The State DOT has not conducted an Environmental Assessment of the superferry's impacts as of September, 2007. The DOT chair argued that new entrants in the primary competing form of interisland transportation (airplane) do not require environmental assessments [1]. The ferry operators contend that they have superseded environmental targets before preliminary review.
• A Maui judge issued a temporary restraining order on August 27, 2007 barring the Superferry from operating on the island of Maui until it could be determined whether the company can be allowed to operate without an environmental review by the State of Hawaii. The State DOT had earlier decided that the Superferry's activity at the piers did not need an environmental review [2].
• The company and its investors have spent over $300 million bringing the Superferry to Hawaii.
• Superferry Protesters have vandalized vehicles of and verbally threatened superferry passengers disembarking on Kauai.^{[citation needed]}
• 6000 Kauaian signatures for a petition of the Hawaii Superferry. The 6000 of a Kauai Island population estimated at 63,000; do not want the superferry to come to Kauai. Signatures collected from Papaya's Natural Health Food Store from the north shore store in Hanalei, and the east side store of Kapa'a. Anti-Superferry Kauaians state that the Superferry will impact the small island in many negative ways. Ref. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/15/15007.html , http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2006/10/03/news/news04.txt
• Terry O’Halloran, the chairman of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council, is also the public affairs director for the Hawaii Superferry. Many people, including the former director of the Pacific Whale Foundation, Irene Bowie, have called this an obvious conflict of interest within an environmental agency and a corporate entity.[3]

Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... A ballast tank is a compartment within a boat that holds water. ... Waterjet diagram A waterjet, as the name suggests, is a jet of water at high velocity and pressure used in a wide range of industries for cutting, shaping, mining, carving, reaming, etc. ... Propulsion method may refer to a number of different articles: For a list of space transport methods, see spacecraft propulsion. ... MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH is a manufacturer of commercial engines. ...

External links

• Hawaii SuperFerry official website
• Hawaii Superferry opposition mounts, USA Today
• Security measures for Hawaii Superferry, KHON2 FOX news
• Hawaii Superferry Sails into Honolulu, KGMB9 news

References