The 145-year-old Falls of Clyde, which has been docked for years at Honolulu Harbor, has been delisted from the Hawaii Register of Historic Places.

In mid-November the state Historic Places Review Board voted unanimously to delist the Falls of Clyde, according to Alan Downer, State Historic Preservation Division administrator, due to the ship’s loss of historical integrity.

The vote was unanimous, he said, without any “no” votes or abstentions.

“At the same time the Board recommended that the Falls be delisted as a National Historic Landmark,” wrote Downer in response to Honolulu Star-Advertiser inquiries. “We have forwarded that recommendation to the National Park Service for consideration. The Secretary of the Interior has final authority over designation of National Landmark.”

The delisting represents another step in years-long efforts by the state Department of Transportation to remove the historic ship from Honolulu Harbor amid plans to redevelop Pier 7.

Originally, a decision by the board had been scheduled for Aug. 11 but was deferred to Nov. 17 due to a clerical error in owner notification by the SHPD staff, according to Downer.

But Bruce McEwan, president of the Honolulu-based nonprofit Friends of Falls of Clyde, which wants to save the ship, said he was never notified of the rescheduled meeting in November.

McEwan said he learned of the delisting only after reading the draft Environmental Assessment recently published in The Environmental Notice for the Falls of Clyde’s removal.

He said the nonprofit had been waiting for notice for the new meeting as required but never received one.

McEwan said he was extremely disappointed and frustrated by the board’s move.

“We’re feeling two things: one, obviously we feel depressed that it’s come to this and that it’s come to this, solely, in our opinion, by actions and inactions taken by the state Harbors Division,” he said, “and second, frustrated because we could have moved forward with our vision on preservation restoration back in 2014, 2015 if the state had just basically accepted our plan.”

The business plan outlined specific steps, starting with getting the ship into dry dock to stabilize its hull, followed by restoration in phases. But the administration at the time offered no response, he said.

The Friends board is reviewing the EA report and plans to file a formal response. The public has until Jan. 22 to provide comments.

The Falls of Clyde, built in 1878 in Port Glasgow, Scotland, is the last remaining example of an iron-hulled, four-masted sailing oil tanker, according to Friends of Falls of Clyde, with an extensive history in Hawaii as a Matson transport ship and museum.

Only a handful of properties, four, have been delisted from the Hawaii Register of Historic Places, according to records.

“Historic Hawai‘i Foundation is deeply saddened by the condition of the historic vessel and the decades of poor maintenance that have left it in its current state,” wrote HHF Executive Director Kiersten Faulkner in a statement. “However, despite the poor physical condition of the ship, its historic significance remains as an object that is associated with the rich maritime history of the Hawaiian islands and the importance of ocean-based commerce and shipping.”

“We believe the Review Board erred in not considering the significance of the ship’s association with events that made important contributions to history,” she continued. “Instead, the applicant and the Review Board focused primarily on damage and loss of aspects related to design, materials and workmanship. We think this limited assessment missed important considerations.”

Historic properties can be delisted only under one of three circumstances: The qualities that caused the property to be originally listed have been lost or destroyed; proof of error in professional judgment was made when listing the property; failure to follow procedures when listing the property.

The Falls of Clyde is still listed as a National Historic Landmark in the National Register of Historic Places. It was listed on the state and national registers in 1973 and designated a national landmark in 1989.

McEwan said the Falls is recognized internationally as part of maritime history and that the Scottish-based group Falls of Clyde International is still interested in restoring the ship to its former glory in the vessel’s birthplace.

The DOT Harbors Division, which impounded the ship in 2016, has made numerous attempts to remove the Falls of Clyde over the years, including a failed public auction in 2019, followed by a canceled conditional award following its bid for proposals in 2021.

A recent evaluation it commissioned found the structural integrity of the ship has deteriorated substantially over the years and that there is a strong risk of it sinking.

The report by maritime archaeologist and historian James Delgado of SEARCH Inc. also said the Falls of Clyde was not likely to survive afloat or be intact by 2024.

Delgado himself in 1988 nominated the Falls of Clyde as a National Historic Landmark, according to NPS records.

McEwan said the nonprofit continued routine maintenance on the ship until early 2019, then was barred from doing so. DOT has had sole responsibility for the maintenance of the ship since then, he said, and allowed its continued deterioration.

DOT Deputy Director for Harbors DreanaLee Kalili said, “While HDOT’s assessment and petition to the board note the vessel has already lost the historic qualities or aspects of integrity which led to its listing, HDOT does not question the historic significance of the vessel.”

She said pending the outcome of the environmental assessment, HDOT looks forward to issuing a request for proposal for the removal of the Falls of Clyde in the first quarter of 2024. The method of removal would be determined by the selected contractor.