Free Republic

Aloha’s downfall may help Superferry survive The demise of Aloha Airlines gives the vessel a bigger role in the travel industry Timing may be everything for the Hawaii Superferry. With the shutdown of Aloha Airlines' passenger operations Monday and improving spring weather conditions, the Alakai will be better positioned to stay in operation after it resumes its Oahu-Maui service on Monday, the company's top executive and industry experts say. The 866-passenger vessel will sail more than two weeks ahead of schedule, after nearly two months of maintenance and repair work. The Superferry has been plagued by legal delays and high...

Wailuku, Hawaii (AP) -- A state judge cleared the way Wednesday for Hawaii's new inter-island ferry to operate before an environmental assessment is complete, disappointing critics who had argued the giant vessel could harm whales and damage the area's fragile ecology. Judge Joseph Cardoza cited a new state law passed in an emergency legislative session in his decision to reverse his injunction against operation of the Hawaii Superferry, a car and passenger service that would link Oahu, Maui, Kauai and eventually the Big Island as the first alternative to air travel. The first 350-foot catamaran has been sitting idle in...

Should the Superferry be saved? Yes 196 29.34% No 472 70.66% Total votes: 668

Honolulu (AP) -- The Hawaii Superferry, halted nearly a month because of protests and legal challenges over its potential environmental impact, will resume service between Oahu and Kauai this month with heightened security, Gov. Linda Lingle said. Lingle, a supporter of the Superferry, said Wednesday that the vessel will resume service Sept. 26 on a temporary daytime schedule, arriving at Kauai's Nawiliwili Harbor at 11 a.m., eight hours ahead of its usual stop. The daytime hours are being used to better ensure public safety, but it may inconvenience cruise ships. The harbor will be heavily secured by Kauai County police...

Honolulu (AP) -- The Coast Guard helped clear protesters who briefly disrupted the second voyage of Hawaii's first-ever passenger ferry service among the Hawaiian islands, but the fight over the ship's environmental impact is far from over. The Hawaii Superferry made two packed trips Sunday — two days ahead of schedule — after the state Supreme Court ruled last week that the state should have required an environmental report before the ferry launched. State transportation officials, noting that the court didn't explicitly say the ship couldn't run, still allowed the service to start. A dozen protesters on surfboards blocked the...

HONOLULU - Without passenger boats, bridges or tunnels linking the islands of Hawaii, the state's four island counties in some ways are as isolated from each other as they are from the mainland. That may change when the Hawaii Superferry, a four-story catamaran, begins running from Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, to Maui and Kauai in a little over a year. A second boat connecting Honolulu with the Big Island is expected to start service in 2009. "This is like the coming of the jet age. It's a new transportation mode," said John Garibaldi, president of Hawaii Superferry. "How...

MARIVELES, Philippines (AP) --The Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility Sunday for a ferry explosion and fire that killed at least two people, though 180 more were missing, according to a radio report. The Radio Mindanao Network said Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Sulaiman claimed Friday's explosion was revenge for government attacks in the southern Mindanao area. Abu Sayyaf has often called the radio network in the past. Fire raced through the Superferry 14 on Friday shortly after it left Manila for central and southern islands, killing one person and injuring 12 others. Witnesses reported a powerful explosion that...

More than 200 people are unaccounted for and at least one person has been confirmed dead after rescuers plucked hundreds of people from a ferry that caught fire off the Philippines capital, officials said. One person died and 14 others were injured in the incident aboard the SuperFerry 14, coastguard spokesman Lieutenant Armando Balilo told AFP. Coast guard deputy commandant Rear Admiral Danilo Abinoja said 877 passengers and crew were aboard the ferry when it caught fire and that 667 had been accounted for, all of them picked up by passing vessels and fishing boats. He said there were...