By Kevin Dayton kdayton@staradvertiser.com
Posted on October 3, 2016 12:05 am
Updated on October 3, 2016 at 12:20 pm
The U.S. Maritime Administration has agreed to help finance a feasibility study for establishing a publicly financed Hawaii ferry service, a plan that may reignite public debate over one of Hawaii’s hot-button transportation and environmental issues.
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This project should go to the UH Engineering Department. Internship. Data already exist. Teach students how to do a grant and rules associated with grants.
I like this suggestion. Effective grant writing is a very big deal for a small state like Hawaii. (I evaluated Technology and Education grant proposals for the NEH in D.C. around 2000 and the process was really a revelation. So many proposals I saw were lacking in some of the basic requirements.)
You’ve got to be fricken’ kidding? What the heck are you going to study? The films already in the can.
Better to have UH Engineering Department get the money then some private contractor. Know some young engineers that graduated form Oregon State, but prior to graduating, worked as interns at some entities, they all ended up staying, some working on government contracts for major highway improvement. They gained from their experiences, also ended up with jobs. State is going to get it, no matter what we do, just where is it going.
The film is already in the can and should be dumped in the circular can.
Here we go again. Study what exactly?? Many of the people that manage and were employed with the HSF are still in Hawaii, living and working here. Others on the west coast. With a bit of savvy looking around your local waterfront, you could easily get all the information you need to learn all that you want about an inter-island ferry system. What a tragedy (still) that people employed at Hawaii’s DOT-Harbors Division today, still are incapable of gathering the reams of data and mountains of information that is readily available, from the right people, if they simply go and ask for it. It would cost you a fraction of whatever you’re going to pay somebody to do. Most of all, its going to be based on factual evidence, not uninformed, uneducated, guessing and ‘estimates’ by proposal writers that have zero knowledge of anything maritime related. The fact the the state is even considering Lahaina as a port for a ferry stop only underscores how little they know about ANYTHING related to the maritime industry. Kawaihae Harbor remains a viable alternative for both commercial use (agricultural products) and passengers. Its a long haul run. But a good mix. Maui’s Kahului Harbor is also a strong candidate, but must first solve their issues of berthing…there simply is no space for a dedicated ferry operation today. And will not be until Maui residents wake up to the reality that their lives hinge on the smooth flow of food and fuel out of their tiny, crowded, typically marginally safe navigation conditions of Kahului Harbor. A new port on that island is a “must have” and the sooner county officials accept that reality, the better off they are. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking with each day’s passing. It is inevitable that even a minor navigation incident with a ship or barge at the harbor entrance will shut down the economy of Maui in 24 hours. Within 48 hours the island will run out of ALL fuel, including jet for planes, gas and diesel for vehicles, and oil for your power plants by the end of the week. The ferry study may shed some well deserved light on this issue, which state and county leadership have chosen to ignore, in spite of maritime industry leaders sounding the alarm for over a decade. A new ferry service inter-island? Yes, by all means. But if you want to call at Maui, might want to take a good long look at just how vulnerable that entire island is, with only 1 small port that is already overwhelmed by vessel traffic, no space for growth, is subjected to the worst year round weather and sea conditions of all ports in Hawaii, and is poised for a disastrous accident that will negatively impact tens of thousands of people and billions of dollars worth of the county’s economy.
We are an island of Dems. Spending money, and growing government is what they were born to do. It’s all they know.
Can you say “Verbose” and lacking “White Space?”
The Boat is for Oahu!
The Navy has been ferrying people from Iroqouis Point to Pearl Harbor and back for more than 50 years.
That is probably the ONLY ferry that is reasonable in Hawaii….350 yards, calm water, and a savings of 30 miles.
And paid for by the Navy. There is no need to study something the Navy has decided to pay for.
Wish they would bring it back. It was killed as a result of sequestration. If the state would fund starting it up again, it would take a few hundred cars off the road.
You divert a few hundred cars with the ferry, meanwhile, the Ho’opi’i housing development will add 15,000 (E) more cars to H1. It just does not make sense.
Why should the State pay for it. The Navy or Feds can pay. They have money.
The opening paragraph of the article reads, “The U.S. Maritime Administration has agreed to help finance a feasibility study for establishing a publicly financed Hawaii ferry service, a plan that may reignite public debate over one of Hawaii’s hot-button transportation and environmental issues.” The environmental issues raised were a smokescreen for the vested interests who did not want the Super Ferry to succeed.
The feds & state govt. could have as many studies it wants, but when the ha-whiners block the port in Kauai and our spineless Gov (just like with the TMT fiasco) tells the ferry to sail back to Oahu, the money might as well have been flushed down the toilet.
How true. My comment, similar to yours, about bypassing Kauai and their simple-tons was sent back for approval. The word simple-ton (the dash is only in there on purpose) meaning simple minded people, easily fooled. Evidently the SA doesn’t like that word.
The anti-ferry people were violating federal laws. Where was the Coast Guard?
Imagine if they sat on an airport runway. You can be there would be some serious action taking place to get them rounded up and booked.
This is a no-brainer. Especially inter-island but HA and car rental companies will definitely oppose it.
In old Hawaii, we always had a ferry system. It just wasn’t a super-ferry, requiring the dredging of harbors, and the speed of a bullet boat.
During the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, a civilian ferry was sunk in the ocean, and the local people survivors were told to keep quiet about it.
In olden Hawaii, large canoes did visit the sister islands.
We had one and was canceled due to low ridership. The state don’t need another study to find out it would not work. Put the money to another use.
So far you are the only one opposed to the issue? My sentiments are in accord with you except we may differ from where or why we take our position. My views stem from where environmentalist will oppose, ancient grounds/iwi site claimed by native Hawaiians will oppose the program. The whole idea is willing to obtain the Federal funds for another “boondoggle” with no real and viable result. Plainly just spend, spend federal funds since that is what the congress people do for Hawaii.
Here we go again, the clowns trying to do another study of the feasability of ferry service for the state…..how many studies do we need?
How about doing a study to find out how many studies are needed.
Brad, DOT does studies in order to hand out the “cheddar” to their buds. They have a closet full of studies, plans, drawings etc none of which were ever intended to go beyond the
“study” phase. This is how, those who contribute to political campaigns get paid back on the backs of the dumb taxpayer.
What a sad state we live in. We HAD a great ferry system but bozo’s in charge BLEW IT. Tahiti and most island chains have ferry service, but it will never happen here. STOP wasting money on that dumb ferry to aloha tower, its a JOKE.
Get rid of fuchigami before it heads in direction of airport & traffic mess he helped make. Studies studies. Mufis boats didn’t work because they were undependable for commuters to rely on and breaking down with parts having to be snail mailed from mainland. Hawaiian air does localsno favors so it would be great to have a ferry interisland. Young brothers will surely hire the “activists” to demonstrate but it’s time for strong leadership to make smart decisions. Ige get a backbone!!
Dis gonna be THIRD time – Sea-flight, The Boat, Super Fairy. Hmm next time Hurricane Hits Kauai then the Anti Ferry Group can suck wind!
I agree, let Kauai suffer when the another big one hits their island….Kauai has taken over by transplant from the mainland, they were the main ones that opposed the SuperFerry service there. Let Matson, Hawaiian Air, Young Brother gauge inter island ferry for the products they need there, they deserve it.
So………..will money be spent to send people to WA and Alaska to study their systems?……might as well go to Greece to see how their ferries work. (I rode them twice from Athens to their outer islands back in the day….you saw all shapes and sizes of ferries/boats on the open sea going to and fro (maybe that’s why Greece economy is in the toilet?….high transportation cost?).
Sorry, but this is a very dubious undertaking…you need lots of people with vision and tons and tons of money (which we don’t have) to face the looming obstacles.
after all is said and done, more said than done……another report to sit on a shelf gathering dust?…..til next time?
It’s the entry-way and rights-of-way needed which are in conflict with native Hawaiians fishing grounds or a number of reasons yet to be considered?
One can go to Hong Kong and ride the old “Sea Flight” that is where it is!
Make it legal to do Uber boats?
Ha! Fascinating. I don’t know how feasible it would be because of liability, insurance, fuel, scheduling, etc. But I have to hand it to you. I have never heard a similar idea proposed here. 🙂
The majority of people on ALL islands want a ferry system… I’m surprised that Young Brothers hasn’t got a “super ferry” in its fleet already.
The study is a complete waste of taxpayer money. The legislators who supported it should know better. We had an interisland ferry system and threw it away. As a result the federal loan guarantees that enabled the hundreds of millions of dollars of investment necessary to establish that system will never be granted again. Just move on.
It’s amazing how so many people here lack foresight. What if there was another Hurricane Iniki and it was impossible to transport food to the outer islands by plane? Then what? We need to think outside the box and other transportation options, such as ferry service. Same goes for rail service. What if there was an accident on H1 for hours and it was impossible to catch a flight at the airport. Then what? If there was a train system, we could take that. FORESIGHT PEOPLE!!!
If we have a hurricane we will all run out of food because the politicians have given developers the prime farm land.
If just fruits and vegetables were grown on the land still available, we might have enough to survive. Just leave out the farm animals.
Let’s bring back the inter island ferry. This time, forget about Kauai and their simpletons.
I have used ferries in Washington State and Japan. I have seen them in other parts of the US, Europe and around the world. I have used the Super Ferry. I know it works well. The problem is not in the vision, concept, or the ferry boats. The problem is the vested interests in power that want to keep the status quo. We don’t need another study. But if we want to waste the money, let’s write the study, throw it on the pile and let it collect dust like all the others. But in a plea for some common sense, couldn’t we find something better to do with that money?
Bingo! 🙂
Wait a minute. We are going to send people out for a fact finding/alternative ferry systems? Wasnt this done when we had the Super Ferry system? We dont need to spend more money to study alternative ferry systems. Question is do we need to get another means of transportation between the islands for commercial, personal and emergency type scenarios? I think the answer is yes except for the island of Kauai who dont want any part of a ferry system to mess their part of the aina. The residents of Kauai can row or paddle to Oahu to get supplies in case of emergencies.
We already had a study, a very expensive study, when the superferry was set up and operated. It obviously failed. We should not waste more money on another study.
Any inter island ferry system would be wise to avoid Kauai. They have shown themselves to be unfriendly to any attempt to open up their island to outsiders.
Super Ferry’s mistake were many but the largest one was not focusing on the Big island and Maui and possibly Molokai. The ferry design was also flawed and was probably too large
but hopefully the lessons learned will be applied to any new ferry project.
As far as a ferry system for Oahu, that is doomed to fail as the previous attempts were all dismal failures. The state DOT would be wiser to focus on building a tunnel under
Pearl Harbor connecting Ewa and West Oahu to downtown Honolulu. Most people will not use the ferry because it is too limiting as most people want the freedom to go here and there
and not just to and from work which is why most will not give up their vehicles in favor of bus or rail.
Molokai residents didn’t want a cruise ship [Pride of America?] to visit, I doubt if they would care for a ferry system that would bring more cars and tourists there. Just saying.
A few thousand visitors coming ashore for a day trip. No need to expand any hotels. They’ll spend money in eateries, shops, and other places, then leave.
Just once a week a windfall comes to a town that’s in dire need of income.
Go figure.
Was only king Walter and his minions.
The Leviathan never runs out of reasons to steal our money.
Just a reminder, federal funds are taxpayer funds.
Let’s not forget the main thing that sunk the SF. State funds were used to conduct “harbor improvements”. State law required that if state funds were used to conduct “harbor improvements”, then and EA (not an EIS) was required. However, the intent of the law (IMHO) was to protect marine resources when conducting harbor improvements, not to assess whether a vessel should be allowed to operate. The harbor improvements conducted did not touch anything in the water, to my knowledge (mostly fencing, striping, and the floating ramps). The judge rule in strict interpretation of the law, rather than choosing to focus on the rationale and intention behind the law (to protect marine ecosystem when in-water improvements such as dredging or building a new harbor). All that said, the HSF was too large, too inefficient at loading and offloading, and would have failed economically, anyway, given enough months of operation. To operate feasibly, the real harbor improvements needed would allow vehicles to drive on one end of the ferry and then off the other (straight through), which would allow loading and unloading in perhaps 1/3 the time. All of that is academic, as the final death knell for any new ferry is…public opinion.
Why are we doing this now? Don’t we have the rail? When we had the boat it was okay for the people who lived in Kalaeloa. They would park their cars and then the boat would stop at the Aloha Towers. I think maybe bring back the Super Ferry is a better option. A lot of people would love that.
let’s build a rail between the islands! 🙂
Technically it’s possible. But it’s going to be expensive.
“Some of the previous opponents of the interisland ferry system have said they remain strongly opposed to the idea.” So nothing has changed. Then why exactly is the state funding another feasibility study to restart an inter-island ferry service? Nothing in the article tells me what will be different. It seems the state is just reacting to consumer complaints of high, inter-island airfares.
here we go again……
Look at the hundreds of fast, efficient and high ridership ferries that travel daily between Hong Kong and Macau and mainland China’s Pearl River Delta. No problems and reasonable.
Wonder how long it would take the state of Hawaii government to F it up should such a system ever happen here?
Why are we studying the Love Boat again. It is ineffective and a money loser. WHO KEEPS PUSHING THIS LAME PROPOSAL?
Thank the Lord, we can’t have enough studies.
Someone is studying something before comitting public funds? We don’t need to do that. Look at the rail, on time and on budget.
We need interisland ferries! I stood in line at the airport for 2 days after Hurricane Iniki to get off Kauai. Many Kauai locals support it. Law enforcement needs to grow a pair and keep the port clear of protesters.
There will always be opposition to ferries carrying cars for environmental and traffic reasons. It’s too bad that people won’t ride the ferry without being able to take their cars with them. I’d be so happy if I could just take my bicycle on the ferry with me. I wouldn’t have to crate it. We don’t need a feasibility study, just a small ferry fleet to carry passengers and bicycle. Much simpler that way.
Fools. If taxpayers need to subsidizing a ferry, why wasn’t it the Super ferry?
Like most neighbor islanders, Hooser wants all the benefits of being part of the state but none of the obligations. He worried about Oahu people coming over with their cars and monopolizing Kauai beaches on weekends, unbelievably selfish to say the least.
To be an island state and not have a ferry system makes absolutely no sense at all. Some third world countries have more competent leaders than we do.
This vessel is being pitched for military purposes, but it can also be used for civilian applications and scaled upward to carry larger loads. High speed and smooth ride in open ocean. Maybe Juliet Marine would be willing to do demonstrations here if the State of Hawaii is serious enough about finding a solution to high-speed, sea-based transport.
GHOST “supercavitation” hull.
https://youtu.be/IOH4alBg_ZA
Comparison of GHOST and conventional planing hull in open water.
https://youtu.be/ZDKPdliiQ5I