Hawaii court forces Superferry to cease operations

**shoot31** · March 17th, 2009, 12:01 AM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090317/...aii_superferry

I guess they won't be taking that second boat that's sitting in Mobile, AL at the Austal yard!

**c.captain** · March 17th, 2009, 03:26 AM

I certainly knew this one was coming...a plan doomed from the outset and I am only surprised that they lasted as long as they did. Unlike the first time, I fully expect that this will force them into bankruptcy.

Of course, both vessels are Title IX loan guaranteed by MarAd so guess who is now on the hook fr their mortgages and in the end who will get stuck with two huge white elephants which they will end up selling for a dime on the dollar after years of sitting idle. You and I as taxpayers!

And to boot, the Navy just signed a contract with Austal to build a brand new HSV for them to replace the Australian built one working for the Navy in the Far East. Like they couldn't wait and get both of these instead. I pray Congress forces the Navy to cancel the contract with Austal USA and makes the Navy buy the two Hawaii ferries instead but Austal will fight that one bitterly and knowing Congress, they will cave in the end.

Now who here can tell me how many Title IX guaranteed vessels haven't gone belly up in the past decade? I can't think of any. Pride of American, Pride of Hawai, Independence, Cape Cod and Cape May Light, Columbia Queen, Empress of the North, now Alikai and her sister. How many hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars to bail out stupid business ideas managed by inept and corrupt vessel owners and shipyards. WHo has pocketed those hundreds and hundreds of millions? Time to scrap Title IX once and for all as a faid program managed by Marad, a failed agency!

Fucking government! NOW I AM REALLY PISSED!

**ThirdMate** · March 17th, 2009, 03:37 AM

Better yet, scrap MARAD all together. Well, maybe let them finsih scrapping all their old vessels first.

**Tankerchief** · April 2nd, 2009, 01:48 AM

You forgot the AMERICAN QUEEN and The RIVER EXPLORER. Both are sitting in Beaumont Reserve Fleet.

**c.captain** · May 24th, 2009, 03:08 PM

I don't believe that anyone has put this up on gCaptain yet but the Hawaii Super Ferry is now a part of history. Read the Honolulu Advertiser's article here.

Repeat today's vocabulary words after me students...

BOONDOGGLE
LUNACY
FARCE
LARCENOUS
MALFEASANCE

and today's saying...

"Lask of proper planning leads to piss poor performance"

Now we have TWO spectacular failures of car carrying fast ferries in the US in less than 4 years...first Rochester, NY to Toronto and now Hawaii. How many millions of the public's money was pissing into these public/private sewers? How many decades will it be now until there is another attempt to run fast car carrying ferries in the US? Amazing when there are several hundred large fast ferries operating profitably literally all over the world but not in this great nation!

...simply and totally incomprehensible!

**Jeffrox** · May 24th, 2009, 11:50 PM

In the Honolulu Advertiser's article linked by C.Captain, be sure to read the comments from the local citizens in Hawai'i, 10 to 1 FOR the ferry.The environmentalists were instrumental in the shut-down but I have to believe IBU, Young Brothers and Sause had a hand in it. If the ferry was hauling the goods then the barges would have been out of business. Hornblower should have gone union this time and bargined with IBU, it would have ment that much less opposition IMHO. And I'm NOT a union proponent.

**dougpine** · May 25th, 2009, 08:59 AM

Originally Posted by mike173

Actually, the ferry was SIU top to bottom, if I'm not mistaken.

I doubt it. It was crewed by Hornblower, definitely a non-union outfit.

The Hawai'i superferry was doomed from day one. They have tried several ferries over the years there, and none of them has been able to stay in business. There are many factors, from local opposition to the rough conditions. In this case the state legislature tried to pull a fast one on behalf of the Superferry and the state supreme court called bullshit. As a former long-time resident of Maui (and former Sause Brothers employee), I'm glad to see the thing go away, for lots of reasons.

**mike173** · May 25th, 2009, 09:19 AM

Hate to say it, but here's the link:http://www.seafarers.org/log/2008/072008/alakai.xml

I was in Honolulu back in Feb., and the SIU guys on board my ship told me it was SIU, but I was never really sure.

dougpine, I just wondering why you were glad to see it go. I know there were a lot of very public protests, including surfers blocking the path, but I never knew why. We certainly seem highly resistant to ferries in America, something I've never fully understood.

**ChEB** · May 25th, 2009, 12:15 PM

that sucks, my buddy worked on there as a Mate.

Now the other Island residents don't have to worry about those dirty people from Oahu driving on their island. Oh well one step back for progress.