Weighing The Cost Of “Progress”
Cruise Ships, The SuperFerry And Kahului Harbor

by Roger Sussman

(Reprinted with Permission: See Haleakala Times Home Page)

Major actions have been proposed for Kahului Harbor that, if approved, will have drastic effects not only on life in the surrounding area of downtown Kahului, but also on a wide variety of vital aspects of life throughout the island of Maui, and, in truth, the entire state of Hawaii.

On the evenings of November 16 and 17 at Maui Waena School (and on another evening the week before in Lahaina), public meetings were held to encourage citizen participation in the process of deciding whether or not it would be akamai (wise) and pono (balanced and righteous) to permit the inevitable impact of an enormous increase in cruise ship visits to Maui, and also of the proposed launching of the Hawaii Superferry program.

First, the issue of increased cruise ship docking on Maui. At this time, cruise ships dock in Kahului Harbor for approximately 73 days of the year, or a little over one day per week. During this time, they offload approximately 100,000 visitors.

At the time of full implementation of Norwegian Cruise Line’s plans, by May of 2006, these large ships will dock in Kahului Harbor for six days a week with the expectation of offloading approximately 500,000 passengers annually.

There are major problems about the desirability of this increased cruise ship traffic, as expressed by the public of Maui. The infrastructure of the island in general is already severely burdened by growth. The proposed additional cruise ship traffic would amount to a 20 percent increase of Maui’s current annual visitor count of two million people.

As one citizen pointed out, the typical passenger on the cruise ships has paid for a package which includes their airfare and their meals, usually at a bargain rate; this category of visitor is unlikely to add much to our local economy, though he or she can use our resources, such as our roads and our parks, and add to our increasingly polluted air.

Meanwhile the cruise ships pay lower fees and taxes than do hotels. It is the cruise ship company that will benefit from this increased traffic.

As Iokepa Nae‘ole of Hawaiian Canoe Club stated, “There is no way we’re going to let our quality of life decline for the economic benefit of someone else.”

Interestingly, Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Lines recently purchased local tour bus company Polynesian Adventure Tours, so even the money being allocated by the cruise ships for passenger land tours now will be diverted away from the island’s economy to as great a degree as possible, to maximize the parent company’s profit.

Next, the issue of the Hawaii Superferry (marketed as “H4” as in Interstate Highway H4). Two mammoth ships, each one longer than a football field, with three decks, would ply the waters between Honolulu and the Neighbor Islands, carrying up to 866 passengers and 282 cars at a time, plus freight.

Numerous, pervasive problems with the notion of the introduction of an inter-island H4 were expressed by an impressive group of vocal opponents at the November 17 meeting. During the first two hours, there wasn’t one single citizen who expressed support for the project – with the exception of a representative of Maui Land and Pineapple, which has a large financial investment in the project, and Cheryl Kikuta, Utilities Administrator for the Hawaii State Division of Consumer Advocacy, which has recommended approval of Hawaii Superferry’s application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity.

In a document submitted by Ms. Kikuta on behalf of her agency, it is stated that “The Division’s role is to represent the interests of Hawaii’s consumers of utility services at reasonable consumer costs.” Apparently, the agency had not taken into account the massive multi-dimensional costs of the project as explained to representatives of the Public Utilities Commission present at the meeting.

One serious problem is the Superferry’s likely increased importation from island to island of invasive alien species which could decimate the individual fragile island environments in which we live.

There also are serious problems of disruption of cultural activities at Kahului Harbor, including surfing, fishing, and the essential functions of several canoe clubs which use the harbor area both to practice and to race.

So much has been made of the need to provide the population in general, and youth in particular, with life- affirming, character-building activities which can serve as alternatives to social ills such as drug abuse and crime. As stated by members of the public, Hawaiian canoe club activities are one of the best examples of such alternatives.

They should not be disrupted and potentially destroyed, but rather must be appreciated and supported as the true cultural treasures that they are, and the great value that they provide – even for the tourists who visit us here and wish to be enriched by the experience of authentic Hawaiian lifestyles.

Despite the claims of the project developers, traffic at the intersection of Pu‘unene and Ka‘ahumanu Avenues would undoubtedly be impacted tremendously, resulting in gridlock heretofore never seen on Maui. Company literature states that “The loading and unloading of passengers and vehicles will be fast... it should take about 30 minutes to load and unload the passengers and vehicles once the vessel is secured at the port.”

That statement doesn’t quite make sense, considering that the ships are designed to hold up to 866 passengers and 282 cars.

There is also the problem of where the vehicles will be stationed prior to loading and after unloading, not to mention areas for rental car pick-up and drop-off.

Glenn Hong, President of Young Brothers, the primary mover of freight between the islands, described the current freight facilities as being stretched to the maximum already, and that the addition of the Superferry would interfere with the efficient operation of his company’s functions, which are an essential component of the reality of the infrastructure of life on Maui.

Various citizens expressed having been highly satisfied with the level of Young Brothers’ existing services to the public, and were concerned by the idea of mixing large numbers of passengers, loading and unloading, with the simultaneous need to handle massive inventories of freight in the same facility space.
Hawaii Superferry’s first of two ships is currently under construction in Mobile, Alabama, at a reported cost of $75 million. How is it that such an order has been placed when the company's project hadn’t yet passed through public review and approval of the proposal?

Earlier this year, in March, a similar ferry called The 'Spirit of Ontario visited Hawaii while en route from its construction site in Australia to Rochester, N.Y., where it was set to provide service between Rochester and bustling Toronto, Canada. Unfortunately, the ship has been plagued with problems and had to cease services after only 80 days, at a cost of $36 million to taxpayers.

Testifiers painted a very unattractive picture of Oahu’s population of nearly one million people suddenly having access to Maui’s already over-extended natural resources, such as beaches, parks and fish populations, all the while without paying taxes toward their upkeep and protection.

Additionally, dangers of increased smuggling of illegal drugs and even the possibility of a large ferry being a prime target for terrorist attack (as has already happened in the Phillipines) were cited.

Like many things in life, the cruise ship and Superferry projects sound great when you look at them superficially; however, with closer examination, they turn out to be disasters in the making. Citizens of Maui who attended these meetings made the very important point over and over again that the potential effects of numerous components of these plans are automatic “triggers” for comprehensive Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements, as required by law.

The public testimony – extensive, well-considered, eloquent, and thorough – made this reporter proud of his fellow citizens who took the time and energy to show up and stand up.

For further information, please visit the excellent website at www.savekahuluiharbor.com.

Additionally, on Thursday, November 25, Thanksgiving Day, at 2:05pm on KAOI Radio 1110 AM, I will present an interview featuring Karen Chun, Mahina Martin, and Iokepa Nae’ole, of the Hawaiian Canoe Club. We will be discussing all of these issues.

Watch Akaku Maui Cable TV for video recordings of the meetings coming soon.