The Hawaiian Superferry

[Mike C]

While in Hawaii, on the radio I heard the end of a debate regarding the Hawaiian Superferry.

"Hawaiian Inter-island Superferry," I pondered. A guarenteed hit with the locals.

I had to know more.

Later in the vacation, I heard a radio advertisment, again, regarding the superferry. Over-enthusiastic locals raved about the new boat for 30 seconds, with me listening intently. They gave a website: www.hawaiisuperferry.com .

When I got home from the trip, I sprang on the website. It's an interesting boat. Can't wait to see how catamarans work on the Hawaiian Islands.
Photo Gallery

The Route is Oahu-Kaua'i-Maui on this daily schedule.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a semi-related note, I saw an inter-island cruise ship in refit and on trials the next day, NCL's Pride of America. I'll post my photos of the boat if anyone's interested.

[Curtis]

Sounds like a good Ferry. Better then the Fastcats I'd say. Would love to ride her someday.

[Scott]

Looks like half a boat.

[Balfour]

I love the interior, but I her lines are kinda weird.

[old_wsf_fan]

It sounds like it just might work. My wife and I had our honeymoon in Hawaii and the thought never occured about not having a ferry to go from island to island, but it seems like a natural fit. It sure seems like a pain to island hop via an airplane.

[Kahloke]

More woes for the Hawaiian Superferry

www.komotv.com/news/local/13197227.html

[Neil]

We get the New York Times delivered on Sunday, and I was going to cut out and post this article until I saw it on line.

It seems that for a lot of people, especially on Kauai, the Superferry is the 'line in the sand', where they say enough tourism is enough. And if you've been to Kauai and seen how unspoiled some of it still is, you can sympathize.

travel.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/travel/30heads.html

[yvr]

A news update.



2nd Hawaii Superferry ‘on hold’
Pacific Business News (Honolulu)


Related News
* TV documentary focuses on Superferry
* Superferry still facing turbulent seas
* Superferry officials confident they can compete with airlines
* Second Superferry nearing sea trials


Ciiting an “uncertain economic climate,” Hawaii Superferry said Tuesday it is postponing planned service of a second ship to the Big Island.

Superferry President and CEO Tom Fargo said the one-year delay will defer more than $10 million in startup costs and allow the company to “maintain our sound financial position.”

Service between Oahu and the Big Island was to have begun early next year, with delivery of a second ship from Mobile, Ala., shipbuilder Austal USA expected in February.

But the company said in a press release that it “will look at short-term opportunities for use of the ship prior to its induction into service in the islands.”

Superferry will continue its current schedule of service between Oahu and Maui on the Alakai, which can hold 200 cars and seat 800 passengers.

“We believe that our business plan is solid for the long run,” said Fargo. “Serving the Islands, including the Big Island and Kauai, remains our goal and is very important to us.

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

Oct 30, 2008 9:50:48 GMT -8 yvr said:

A news update.



2nd Hawaii Superferry ‘on hold’
Pacific Business News (Honolulu)


Related News
* TV documentary focuses on Superferry
* Superferry still facing turbulent seas
* Superferry officials confident they can compete with airlines
* Second Superferry nearing sea trials


Ciiting an “uncertain economic climate,” Hawaii Superferry said Tuesday it is postponing planned service of a second ship to the Big Island.

Superferry President and CEO Tom Fargo said the one-year delay will defer more than $10 million in startup costs and allow the company to “maintain our sound financial position.”

Service between Oahu and the Big Island was to have begun early next year, with delivery of a second ship from Mobile, Ala., shipbuilder Austal USA expected in February.

But the company said in a press release that it “will look at short-term opportunities for use of the ship prior to its induction into service in the islands.”

Superferry will continue its current schedule of service between Oahu and Maui on the Alakai, which can hold 200 cars and seat 800 passengers.

“We believe that our business plan is solid for the long run,” said Fargo. “Serving the Islands, including the Big Island and Kauai, remains our goal and is very important to us.

Mostly a rehash, but there are a couple more details:

www.marinelog.com/DOCS/NEWSMMVII/2008oct00285.html

---

October 28, 2008
Hawaii Superferry to delay deployment of second vessel

Hawaii Superferry today said that it is postponing the introduction of its second ship and start of service to the Big Island for approximately one year. The company anticipates the financial and economic climate will by then be more conducive to starting the new route. The company will continue its current schedule of service between the islands of O'ahu and Maui with its first ship, the Alakai.

The second of Hawaii Superferry's two 113 m catamarans was launched at Austal USA's Mobile, Alabama, shipyard last month. The company is expecting to take delivery of it in Mobile in late February 2009 and says it "will look at short-term opportunities for use of the ship prior to its induction into service in the islands."

"Hawaii Superferry remains committed to serving the people and businesses of Hawaii," said Superferry President and CEO Tom Fargo. "We're encouraged by the increased ridership we experienced this summer and by the very positive feedback we've been receiving about our service. Postponing the introduction of our second ship will defer over $10 million in start-up costs and enable us to maintain our sound financial position. Given today's economic uncertainties, this decision is both prudent and provides us with additional time to develop this market, while continuing to grow our successful Oahu and Maui service.

"We believe that our business plan is solid for the long run," continued Mr. Fargo. "Serving the islands, including the Big Island and Kauai, remains our goal and is very important to us. In the meantime, we will continue our focus of providing a reliable and responsible service between Maui and Oahu and preparations for the arrival of our second ship to ensure its successful launch."

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20081107/NEWS09/811070368/1001/LOCALNEWSFRONT

---

Superferry barge repairs to cost state $414,284
DOT hopes to expedite work to stop 'potential' disaster at Maui harbor


The state Department of Transportation plans to spend $414,284 for immediate repairs to the Hawaii Superferry barge at Kahului Harbor to prevent a "potential disastrous and life-threatening" leak.
Advertisement

The barge's internal frames and other structural components have been "overstressed, bent and damaged," according to documents filed this week with the State Procurement Office.

The damage occurred over the past nine months from rough contact between the barge and the end of Pier 2C at the Maui port and from the force of a tugboat pushing from the seaward side of the barge to keep it against the pier while the 350-foot, high-speed ferry is unloading and loading, the documents said.

The repair money will come from the remaining balance on a $40 million state appropriation for ferry-related improvements at four ports, said DOT Harbors Division chief Michael Formby.

Not included in the $40 million was $503,000 the state spent from December through September to hire a tugboat to keep the barge snug against the pier during ferry operations. Hawaii Superferry is responsible for tugboats costs effective Oct. 1, Formby said.

The DOT is seeking an exemption from state procurement rules to hire Healy Tibbitts Builders Inc. to perform the repair work since the company designed and built the barge and mooring system. The coming winter storm season is another reason to expedite the project, according to the DOT exemption request.

A survey of interior of the barge's hull in September revealed "significant" damage to the hull structure in the area where the tug contacts the barge and where the hull contacts the pier on the opposite side of the vessel, the exemption request said.

"Immediate repairs to the barge must be accomplished before a potential disastrous and life-threatening leak develops in the hull from the continued daily tug-supported operations," the request said.

The work will be scheduled around Superferry visits.

The unprotected mouth of Kahului Harbor faces northeast and is susceptible to winter storm surge and high surf. Using historical wave and surge data, Healy Tibbitts designed the barge and installed a cable mooring system to hold the vessel steady against the pier and accommodate wave heights of up to 1.43 feet.

Last December, unusually high storm surge and wave conditions exceeding that height caused the instantaneous failure of the mooring system. Four lines securing the barge to the pier snapped and two mooring bollards were uprooted. The episode led to a U.S. Coast Guard requirement that a tugboat be employed to hold the barge against the pier during daily ferry visits, until a safer, permanent system could be installed.

In the meantime, a modified mooring system that relies on soft lines, or ropes, allows the barge to ride out waves and surge when the ferry is not present.

The Army Corps of Engineers is reviewing the DOT's permit application for a new anchored mooring system that will hold the barge off Pier 2C in between use. During ferry unloading and loading, a winching system will bring the barge to the pier.

Formby said the cost of the new mooring system has not been determined. "Given the state's notice that it has reached the limit of its funding authority, the state will not be funding the new system," he said.

That could mean Hawaii Superferry will have to pay for it and any future improvements, although the company may have something to say about that.

Superferry officials yesterday said they are still in discussions with the state over who is responsible for some of the unanticipated expenses connected with the troublesome barge and mooring system.

The company has pointed out a series of system failures that occurred before the December event, suggesting a design flaw. The state and Healy Tibbitts Builders have questioned whether thrust from the ferry's water jets contributed to the problems, and whether the mooring lines were improperly handled by ferry staff after initial installation.

Formby said no agreement has been reached between the parties as to reimbursement or indemnification for costs incurred by the state or Hawaii Superferry.

[fargowolf]

Found this on YouTube. About half the video is of the ferry docking and the ther half driving onto/off of the ferry.



And a time lapse vid:

[Northern Exploration]

That is a thorough search they do before boarding.

Is the Coho now that extensive too? Last time I took the Coho was as a footie and before that was before the bomb controversy. The Customs officers were more concerned if we had oranges back then, rather than anything else .

[Kahloke]

No, the Coho is usually not that extensive. US Customs might be extensive when you disembark at Port Angeles, but they nobody searches your vehicle before you board the vessel the way that this Hawaii Superferry does. The last time I drove aboard Coho was last year, but that was going to Victoria, and Canada Customs didn't search my vehicle.

[Kahloke]

Hawaii Super Ferry suspends operations due to court ruling

seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2008874367_webhawaiiferry17.html

[FNS]

Looks like Hawaii should have considered Nickum & Spaulding's designed ferry for auto service. I paid a visit to N&S in my last years of high school in the late 1970s and saw an impressive design for one. This was based on the three original Spaulding Alaska "blue canoe" ferryliners.

The Main Decks would have been about the same. The Lower Passenger Deck would have had restaurants and pubs (I would have called this the Catering Deck). The Upper Passenger Deck would have had the main passenger lounges with the forward observatory and an all-around promenade. Aft on the Bridge Deck would have had another outside deck for passengers.

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

www.professionalmariner.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=news&mod=News&mid=9A02E3B96F2A415ABC72CB5F516B4C10&tier=3&nid=8554B24DCCFB4EFE88FCACB015A2A346

---

Hawaii Superferry begins laying off its 161 employees

Says state court decision is not yet final

The following is the text of two statements issued by Hawaii Superferry:

Obviously we are hugely disappointed with the Supreme Court's decision that Act 2 is unconstitutional. We have operated on a regular, reliable and responsible basis for the past 11 months. During this time over 250,000 people have booked travel on Alakai and it has provided new economic opportunities for Hawaii's businesses.

While the appeal is not yet final because a judgment on appeal has not been entered, we want to proceed prudently and have decided to cease operations for the present.

Our first priority is to take care of our customers, both those who have recently traveled and need to return to either Oahu or Maui and those who have future bookings. We will make one additional round trip to get vehicles back to their homes this Thursday.

We are in the process of calling all customers with near term bookings, starting with voyages on Tuesday and working out to further dates. Customers may also call 1-877-443-3779 for immediate service. Phone lines are extremely busy. If you are not able to get through, please wait and try again later.

***

In light of the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision that Act 2 was unconstitutional, Hawaii Superferry has suspended operations, with the exception of a voyage this Thursday to bring our customers and stranded vehicles back to their home ports.

With operations currently suspended, we unfortunately have to start releasing employees beginning Friday, March 20. Total employment at HSF is 161 full and part time employees and 75 contracted employees.

These are exceptional people who have been valued members of our company. Anyone who has sailed on Alakai can attest to their competence and Aloha to our customers.

Hawaii Superferry is working with the Department of Labor¹s Rapid Response team to provide our employees with relocation assistance.

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2009/03/30/daily1.html

---

Hawaii Superferry heads back to Alabama

The Hawaii Superferry announced over the weekend that the Alakai was headed back to Mobile, Ala.

The ferry left Honolulu Harbor Saturday for a 7,600-mile journey from Hawaii through the Panama Canal, that will take approximately three weeks.

The company said the Alakai’s move is to position it for future employment.

The company announced March 19 that it was pulling the ship out of Hawaii to look for another market after the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that a state law allowing the interisland ferry to operate without a complete environmental impact statement is unconstitutional.

[Nickfro]

I saw the documentary of the Hawaii Superferry on the National Geographic Channel last night.

Pretty interesting, I must say. Having not known about this endeavour until I saw the show last night, when they mentioned the possible concern about harming sea life, I could only think about the fast cats. If the fast cats sucked in a seal or two, obviously a somewhat similar vessel that is larger and faster will have the same problem.

Once again. . .great idea. . .but the cons can be too costly to make it a viable service.

[Northern Exploration]

Jun 25, 2009 16:52:09 GMT -8 Nickfro said:

I saw the documentary of the Hawaii Superferry on the National Geographic Channel last night.

Pretty interesting, I must say. Having not known about this endeavour until I saw the show last night, when they mentioned the possible concern about harming sea life, I could only think about the fast cats. If the fast cats sucked in a seal or two, obviously a somewhat similar vessel that is larger and faster will have the same problem.

Once again. . .great idea. . .but the cons can be too costly to make it a viable service.

Does anyone know the current location of both ferries? I know someone from Hawaii had said one was already leased to another service.

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

www.starbulletin.com/business/20090625_superferry_urged_not_to_abandon_2_vessels.html

---

Superferry urged not to abandon 2 vessels

The Hawaii Superferry's committee of unsecured creditors and the state Department of Transportation said the company's attempt to abandon its two ferries is "premature" because it is early in the case and the vessels are "presumably the debtor's most valuable assets."

In filings yesterday with federal Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., the committee said that even though the Superferry ceased operations in Hawaii on March 16, it is likely the vessels could be sold or chartered, either domestically or abroad, and provide the Superferry estate additional funds in which it can maximize recoveries for creditors.

The state DOT filed a joinder that adopts the committee's position.

The Superferry filed a motion on June 11 to abandon the ships and release its financial interest in the ferries because, it said, it did not have sufficient liquidity to maintain the vessels. The company said it is incurring significant costs for insurance, maintenance, security and storage.

A hearing to abandon the ships, as well as the state DOT motion to transfer the venue to Honolulu, is scheduled for July 1.

The creditors said the Superferry's abandonment motion is particularly troubling because it was filed less than a week after the company filed a motion seeking to initiate the transfer of $7.5 million held in escrow to Guggenheim Corporate Funding LLC, one of the Superferry's creditors. The committee is objecting to the release of those funds because it says Guggenheim has no security interest in the $7.5 million and the escrow conditions governing the release of that money have not been and can never be satisfied.

The Superferry filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 30.

[Kahloke]

Oct 6, 2008 18:07:39 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

A colleague of mine recently returned by a Hawaii vacation. While taking a trolley-tour, she snapped a picture of the Hawaii SuperFerry (a drive-by picture shooting).



I posted this photo because the foreground gives a good scale to compare the ship's size to.

[FNS]

Time to wake up this thread again. Some good news this time.

From workboat.com:

Superferries to the rescue
Bruce Buls
January 22, 2010

I've got my Hawaii Superferry hat on today, literally. It was given to me two years ago when my wife and I visited the islands and rode the Alakai between Oahu and Maui.

Today, the Alakai and its sister vessel, the Huakai, are about to become “Haiti Superferries.”

When Marad “repossessed” the two Austal-built fast ferries, it hired Hornblower Marine Services, which operated the Alakai in Hawaii, to keep them warmed up and ready to go. Now, Hornblower crews are setting course for the Caribbean with people and supplies from various staging areas in the Southeast.

Hawaii Superferry's bankruptcy was a huge loss for the islands, in my opinion, but this new mission is perfect for the big ferries with their large capacities and 40-knot speeds.

The Haitian relief efforts are also being supported by other workboat enterprises, including both Crowley Maritime and Foss Maritime.

Crowley has already sent a container ship with food and water to a port in the Dominican Republic and with the support of its subsidiary, Titan Salvage, it's setting up a barge on the beach near Port-au-Prince for lightering operations. Foss is dispatching a tug and barge from the Gulf loaded with relief supplies bound for Haiti as well.
Given the very limited access and capacity of airlift support, it is the maritime transportation industry that will be carrying the bulk of supplies to Haiti over the weeks, months and even years to come.

Good luck to all companies involved. We'll provide updates about their efforts to deliver life-saving supplies to the Haitian people.

And if your company is also involved in Haitian relief, we'd like to hear about it.

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

marinelink.com/en-US/News/Article/333176.aspx

---

High-Speed Ferries Ready for Haiti

High-speed ferry ships MV Huakai and MV Alakai are preparing to sail to Haiti in support of Operation Unified Response to provide disaster relief following the Jan. 12 earthquake there. Huakai and Alakai were originally built to serve as passenger and vehicle ferries in Hawaii but were turned over to the Maritime Administration's custody when the ferry service went bankrupt. The ships will be under operational control of the Military Sealift Command during Operation Unified Response. The ships' main tasks will be to transfer equipment and personnel in the region. They are configured for the mission to each hold 450 tons of cargo and 500 passengers and can travel at a sustained speed of 33 knots.

On Wednesday, Jan. 27, Huakai loaded a rapid port opening package, communications gear, fork lifts, trucks, Humvees, supplies and other equipment at Fort Eustis, Va. Huakai will also carry personnel from the 689th Rapid Port Opening Element, MSC's Expeditionary Port Unit Detachment and elements from the Army's 7th Sustainment Brigade. Huakai got underway Jan. 27 and is scheduled to arrive in Haiti Jan. 29.

Alakai is currently in Norfolk, Va., and is scheduled to get underway for Haiti in the next several days.

Huakai and Alakai are two of 12 ships under MSC control mobilized to date in support of humanitarian relief efforts in Haiti. These ships include hospital ship USNS Comfort, fleet replenishment oiler USNS Big Horn, rescue and salvage ship USNS Grasp, oceanographic survey ship USNS Henson, Maritime Prepositioning Ships USNS 1ST LT Jack Lummus and PFC Dewayne T. Williams, and dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Sacagawea. In addition, three ships have been activated from the Maritime Administration's Ready Reserve Force to assist with the effort. When activated, these MARAD ships come under operational control of MSC.

Military Sealift Command operates approximately 110 noncombatant, merchant mariner-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, conduct specialized missions, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world and move military cargo and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces and coalition partners.

[FNS]

Mar 17, 2009 12:21:06 GMT -8 FNS said:

Looks like Hawaii should have considered Nickum & Spaulding's designed ferry for auto service. I paid a visit to N&S in my last years of high school in the late 1970s and saw an impressive design for one. This was based on the three original Spaulding Alaska "blue canoe" ferryliners.

The Main Decks would have been about the same. The Lower Passenger Deck would have had restaurants and pubs (I would have called this the Catering Deck). The Upper Passenger Deck would have had the main passenger lounges with the forward observatory and an all-around promenade. Aft on the Bridge Deck would have had another outside deck for passengers.

As I mentioned above, I have seen a neat model in the offices of Nickum and Spaulding during my visit there in the late 1970s when I was in high school. This was of a planned fleet of ferries for Hawaii. Here's a picture of this from the Steamboat Bill, Number 136, Winter 1975, Page 242.



These ferries would have been 475 feet in length with a beam of 82 feet. These would have carried a load of 256 cars and would have been running at a speed of 21 knots. These "white canoes" would have been great ships. These ran into the same problem the cats had and never left the drawing boards.



From the same page with the Totem Ocean Trailer Express RO-RO ship GREAT LAND on her Seattle to Anchorage inauguration, MV COHO, MV MATANUSKA, and what would have been N&S's version of Hawaii's Superferries.

[yvr]

maritimematters.com/2010/10/austal-ferries-auctioned/

Hawaii Super Ferries Auctioned Off

I thought you might like to compare the prices obtained for these vessels versus the BCF cats.


The super ferries HUAKI and ALAKAI were auctioned off on the steps of U.S. District Court in Norfolk, VA yesterday.

Following the bankruptcy filing by Hawaii Superferry Inc., a judge ruled that the owners could abandon the two super ferries to lenders back in 2009. This past May, the US Federal Government sued to get title of the two vessels. Both were auctioned by U.S. Marshals Service yesterday and bought by the U.S. Maritime Administration for US$25 million each.

A Maritime Administration spokesperson said that there may a possible deal involving the US Navy, which expressed interest in the ferries last year.

ALAKAI, the US-built, twin hulled, 107 meter ferry, had traveled from her builders at Mobile, AL, (via Long Beach, CA) to Hawaii to launch a new interisland service in June 2007. Work on the second Austal-built ferry, (also intended to ferry passengers and cars between Oahu and the Big Island) was halted in October 2008, as a result of the poor economy. However, the route was subsequently halted by the courts. Hawai’i's Supreme Court ruled that a law that had allowed ALAKAI to operate pending an environmental review was unconstitutional. ALAKAI (which means “Ocean Path”) had shuttled passengers and cars between Oahu and Maui for more than a year and then departed the islands March 28, 2009 for a three week return voyage to Mobile, Alabama for lay up.

In January 2010 ALAKAI, with her unique speed and combined cargo and passenger capability, was sent to Haiti for earthquake relief operations.

For now, the two ships remain tied up at Lambert’s Point Docks, Norfolk, VA.


YVR