Superferry operated in May at 29% of capacity

The Maui News
By CHRIS HAMILTON, Staff Writer
Saturday, June 14, 2008

KAHULUI - The Hawaii Superferry's 350-foot Alakai operated at less than a third of its capacity in May, its first full month of operations, members of the Hawaii Inter-Island Ferry Oversight Task Force were told Friday.

Terry O'Halloran, Superferry director of business development, said the high-speed ferry hosted 21,882 passengers and 6,003 cars in May. However, that is only 29 percent of the ferry's capacity.

Those figures average out to about 250 people and 70 vehicles per voyage, well below the ferry's capacity of 866 people and 282 vehicles per trip.

Company officials hope the number of passengers will increase this month.

Meanwhile, the first mandated "rapid-risk assessment" of how the Hawaii Superferry is impacting Maui and Oahu should be available in mid-July, panel members learned.

Lesley Matsumoto, a consultant for Belt Collins Hawaii Inc., also told task force members that she expects the ferry's draft environmental impact study required by courts last year to be ready in October. The final environmental impact statement, which could determine the fate of the controversial Superferry, is scheduled to be completed in May. However, some task force members said they would prefer it be ready in time for the next legislative session.

During a public meeting at the Kahului cruise ship terminal, Matsumoto said the consultants found general compliance with rules about the condition of cars and what passengers can transport between islands. (Such rules are aimed at reducing the ferry's chances of introducing alien species.) But Matsumoto also said that some improvements were needed in the inspection area, particularly on Oahu. Those upgrades would include more thorough questioning of passengers and better vehicle examinations.

She said consultants are preparing formal recommendations.

Jeffrey Parker of Maui Tomorrow, which has opposed the Superferry, said he found it worrisome that the Oahu inspectors were not as thorough. But he applauded the Maui personnel.

Members of the task force, which is made up mostly of state and county officials, later called on lawmakers and the governor to provide more resources to hire more inspectors.

Randy Awo, Maui chief of the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement, said that when the ferry is in port, it ties up nine officers and pulls them away from duties in other parts of the island. He said he's also working with state court officials on a proposal to streamline a citations system by putting them before one administrative judge and a team of specially trained prosecutors.

In the 25-day study period leading up to Memorial Day weekend, officials from the state departments of Agriculture and Land and Natural Resources inspected 4,575 vehicles, rejected 50 - most for being too dirty - and confiscated hundreds of pounds of prohibited items such as fish, nets, plants and seaweed, Matsumoto said.

In addition to inspections for prohibited items and invasive species, Belt Collins consultants also examined traffic impacts, wastewater release, whale watching procedures and cultural sensitivity issues.

Dick Mayer of Maui Tomorrow called for the continued use of traffic police on Puunene and Kaahumanu avenues and for nighttime whale watching assessments, among other requests.

Fact Box
Hawaii Superferry voyages in May, by the numbers:

* 21,882 passengers, 6,003 cars
* 48 percent of passengers live on Oahu; 20 percent reside on Maui
* Each group of travelers has an average of about three people
* The average group stays on another island for about five nights
* 11 percent of the passengers are traveling for business, with the remainder traveling for pleasure
* The ship's crew spotted an average of 14 humpback whales per trip