Superferry, Super Brouhaha

Long time in the making, both in planning and opposition (!), the Hawaii inter-island Superferry is finally here and making big, big waves. A coalition of Maui environmental groups tried to put a last-minute stop to the Oahu-Maui route days before the kick-off of daily service, but the judge merely ordered an environmental assessment and didn't stop service. So that prompted a "It's a go!" $5 sale...Superferry executives offered a special deal of $5 one way for a person or a vehicle for the next two weeks, with service starting on Sunday to Maui and Kauai. By end of day Sunday, nearly 95% of the discount fares were snatched up. Initial Sunday service to Maui went well, and there were only a few protestors on the dock with signs, etc. Folks protesting Sunday night's passage from Oahu to Kauai were a different story. Swimmers, surfers, and kayakers met the boat at the entrance of the dock and temporarily blocked the Ferry docking. The Coast Guard plucked folks from the water, but only arrested a handful. Once the Ferry docked and the cars were unloading, protestors on the ground surrounded cars and beat on windows!

Flash forward to a Maui courtroom on Monday morning, and another judge temporarily halted the Oahu-Maui route. Then on Monday night, a reinforced “flotilla” got back in the Kauai waters to block the Ferry again, this time at the entrance to the harbor. After waiting for nearly 3 hours to dock, the Ferry was forced to turn around and sail back to Oahu despite the Coast Guard making significantly more arrests. Noel and I laugh as we watch the news reports and see all those people who have now find themselves in legal trouble and face stiff, federal penalties ($32,500!). I'm sure they are proud of their efforts, but did they realize this could have been handled in court like the civilized folks on Maui, and the Oahu-Kauai route would have been grounded, instead of idling in Nawiliwili Harbor for hours and no doubt causing some sort of environmental disruption? But it worked. The Coast Guard determined they would not be able to keep the peace and keep the protestors safe in or out of the water, so the Superferry to Kauai has also been haulted. (Terrorists, do NOT take note of what can cause the Coast Guard to throw in the towel!) And just this past Friday, the court determined that the State was in error in granting the Hawaii Department of Transportation an exemption in a stage of the environment review process a few years ago. Now Superferry service to Maui has been suspended for at least another week while Superferry lawyers and execs fight to continue service concurrently with an environmental assessment.

So why am I bringing all of this up? Well, Noel jumped on the $5 deals and secured tickets for himself and his parents to head to Maui for an overnighter, departing Friday morning August 31. I'd asked Noel to take along his camera equipment and take some photos of the people and places, but it isn’t meant to be for a while. In the bigger (and sadder) picture, this issue has divided the islands, pitting folks from Maui, Kauai, and Oahu against each other.