Ferry seeks ability to cancel sailings at last minute

Sea Link of Hawaii Inc. wants to be able to cancel ferry service between Lahaina and Molokai with 48 hours’ notice if ridership is too low to make ends meet.

Sea Link filed a request June 23 with the state Public Utilities Commission, seeking the authority to change its schedule two days in advance.

Sea Link President David Jung, citing competition from the airlines, said Friday that his company lost $288,000 as a result of a decrease in ridership in 2014 and needs to be able to adjust its state-mandated schedule to survive.

Molokai residents said the ferry remains a vital link, especially for its students who participate in athletics and academic programs on Maui and Lanai.

“It’s our lifeline for athletics,” said Lee DeRoin, Molokai High School’s athletic director.

DeRoin said Friday that close to 200 Molokai students participate in Maui Interscholastic Athletics and rely upon the ferry for transportation, in addition to those who participate in science and robotics competitions.

DeRoin said the ferry provides discounts for buying books of tickets and allows athletes to travel with ease because it can carry their equipment, along with fans.

“Without the ferry a lot of parents are not going to see their kids play,” he said.

Jung said Sea Link is in a price war with the airlines, which have the ability to change schedules and the price of airfares — something he can’t do under state Public Utilities Commission rules.

Jung said the commission requires Sea Link to make two round trips a day and charge a base price of $40 one way, plus fuel adjustment charges, for the exclusive right to provide the ferry service.

Sea Link was charging a one-way ticket of $68 Friday, but the price could go up or down depending on the cost of fuel. For a book of six one-way tickets, Sea Link was charging $52.62 a ticket.

Makani Kai Air charged an introductory fare of $39 one way between Kahului and Molokai airports in June.

Makani Kai is now charging $50 one way between the two airports.

Jung said reducing some sailings will cut Sea Link’s costs.

“All we’re asking is to drop some routes,” he said. “We’re not asking to raise prices.”

In the past, Sea Link has played an important role in helping workers on Molokai find jobs elsewhere.

In the mid-1980s, following the shutdown of Del Monte’s pineapple plantation, Sea Link provided transportation for workers on Molokai seeking employment on Maui through a $30,000-a-month subsidy agreement with the state under Gov. John Waihee.

The ferry stopped operations shortly after the subsidy was terminated by Gov. Ben Cayetano in 1995.

Earlier this year Maui County agreed to provide a one-time $105,000 subsidy to Sea Link for financial relief.

In 2001, following the shutdown of the Kaluakoi Resort, laying off some 100 Molokai employees, Sea Link started the ferry service again in partnership with hotels in West Maui.

Observers say the number of Molokai workers on the ferry has decreased to fewer than 10 daily as employees have moved to West Maui or retired.

Councilwoman Stacy Crivello of Molokai said Friday she understands the predicament facing Sea Link.

She said she hopes a ferry service continues and employment improves. Molokai’s unemployment rate was 8.8 percent in May, according to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

“All I know is it’s the highest in the state,” Crivello said.