Call it the controversy that never should have been
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By VALERIE MONSON, Staff Writer, The Maui News
For more than a month, the state's proposed plan to expand Pier 2C in Kahului Harbor has generated heated protests by canoe club members who were under the impression that others with a stake at the docks - particularly the cruise ships or the proposed Hawaii Superferry - were behind the plan that would have sent them packing.
As it turns out, a longer Pier 2C is the pier that nobody wants. Not only is there no demand, but the extended structure could prove hazardous to vessels moving about the harbor.
"If nobody wants 2C, then how did it get to this point?" wondered Mayor Alan Arakawa, as baffled as everyone else as to how an unwanted project created such chaos.
Norwegian Cruise Line-America doesn't want it. Young Brothers doesn't want it. The Superferry doesn't want it. The canoe clubs certainly don't want it. Matson has no need for it. Even the state cargo specialist who schedules all the vessels into Kahului Harbor doesn't need it.
State Department of Transportation officials said Friday that it was a misunderstanding - not a mandate - that tore open a strange kettle of fish. DOT was relying on a four-year-old report that included the possible extension of Pier 2C to handle the growing amount of seaborne traffic in the island's only deep draft harbor. Officials say they had input from various interested parties on Maui in 2000 so they thought they were proceeding with a workable plan.
"It's not like something that came out of the blue," said Scott Ishikawa, DOT spokesman.
Try telling that to canoe club members who, for the last few weeks, have been furiously holding meetings, conducting roadside demonstrations or speaking out at public hearings to protect their racing grounds, believing they were under siege by huge corporations and off-island interests.
In recent days, however, paddlers suspicious of other harbor users have suddenly discovered they were all on a similar course when it came to the pier under fire. Michele Lee, planning director for Young Brothers, said she didn't "recall us ever asking for Pier 2C." Terry White, chief operating officer for the Superferry, said "we never considered" using 2C.
Robert Kritzman, executive vice president and managing director for the Hawaii operations of Norwegian Cruise Line-America (NCL-America), couldn't understand why his company became the vilified scapegoat.
"We not only don't need 2C, we don't know what we would do with it," said Kritzman. "We're set at Pier 1, which can also accommodate a Matson ship. We're confused as to where the information came from (that NCL-America was pushing for the pier)."
So are the paddlers.
"It's the most bizarre thing we've ever seen," said Mahina Martin of Hawaiian Canoe Club, the reigning three-time state champion. "Had we not been local enough to talk to each other, we'd still be in chaos - and only to later find out that we're all on the same page, but that DOT is holding the book."
On top of not being wanted by any harbor occupants, a longer Pier 2C could even be dangerous to vessels trying to jockey for position after entering or trying to exit the narrow opening of Kahului Harbor. To properly maneuver, pilots or captains must fan out into the deeper harbor waters, where they line up with two tall red fluorescent day markers located near the Maui Beach Hotel and Sears to position themselves. Since ships and barges can't turn on a dime, the wider the basin, the better.
The way it's planned, though, an extended Pier 2C would jut straight into the turning basin.
"We're concerned that the turning basin not be shrunk," said Buzz Fernandez, sales representative for Matson who is familiar with all of the company's operations. "Whether it's safe or not, that's our big concern. If you have something sticking out and you don't have room to turn around, you're in big trouble."
Kritzman agreed.
"Pier 2C would be problematic for us if we're on Pier 1," he said. "We don't think lengthening 2C is a good idea."
Steve Pfister, marine cargo specialist with the state Harbors Division who assigns berths to the various vessels, said the additional docking space provided by a new Pier 2C would make his job smoother, but, at the same time, increase the risks for pilots and captains at the wheel.
"I schedule everything, and I don't need that pier," said Pfister from his office that overlooks the often-bustling waterfront. "If I have more pier space, of course, it would make it easier for me, but would it make it harder for turning? Yes."
Despite all those remarks, DOT hasn't completely decided to jettison the plans for 2C. Barry Fukunaga, deputy director for the Harbors Division, met with leaders of the canoe clubs Thursday night but the next day told The Maui News that no final decision has been made.
"We're just waiting to get all the comments in before we jump to conclusions prematurely," said Fukunaga. "It might have been misinterpreted that we were moving toward actual construction when it's just a planning tool."
Paddlers who met with Fukunaga on Thursday came away confident that the pier would not happen.
"We think they're listening," said Martin during a presentation to the Governor's Maui Advisory Committee, barely an hour after the meeting with Fukunaga had concluded.
An extended Pier 2C - which would protrude toward the west breakwater some 500 feet and essentially eliminate most of the canoe racing lanes - was part of DOT's 2025 master plan for Kahului Harbor that was assembled in 2000. Fukunaga couldn't identify the major players who pushed for the longer pier but said that paddlers were included.
"Obviously over time, conditions change," said Fukunaga. "What might have been considered something worth pursuing then may no longer stand the test today."
Fukunaga also acknowledged that the earlier plan had not taken into account that a longer Pier 2C would encroach into the turning basin.
Arakawa said the state should complete an environmental impact statement that takes into consideration all the new plans and increased traffic at the harbor. Fukunaga couldn't respond to that.
There are three active piers at Kahului Harbor: Pier 1, the longest structure at more than 1,500 feet with three berths (1A, 1B, 1C) that's often referred to as the "Matson Pier" because the Matson vessels almost always dock there; Pier 2, a more snub-nosed wharf of 890 feet with three berths (2A, 2B and an unextended 2C) that's known as the "Young Brothers Pier" because Young Brothers conducts most of the business there; and Pier 3, the 500-foot slab that runs perpendicular to the others and handles flat-bottomed barges or lighter vessels with shallow draft.
Pfister describes his role like that of a "parking lot attendant." Actually, it's much more than that, as he's responsible for scheduling the vessels - sometimes six years in advance - and making sure there's an appropriate berth open for them when they arrive.
"There's only so many parking spaces, and you just coordinate where people park," said Pfister, pulling out color-coded calendars of berth assignments already set through 2007. "It's like a restaurant - you take reservations and it's first-come, first-served, with a few exceptions."
Those exceptions include tankers bringing much-needed fuel to the island about once every three weeks; the "sugar ship" that spends three days at the harbor loading up processed cane five or six times a year; the "tin plate ship" that brings tin to Maui Land & Pineapple Co. Inc. two or three times a year for making cans for the fruit; a coal ship that arrives about once every other month to help Hawaiian Sugar & Commercial Co. generate electricity; and other cargo vessels or container ships crucial to modern-day island life.
With cruise ships penciled in for at least 1 1/2 days a week this year (they'll be coming for six days a week by May of 2006), Pfister sometimes has to juggle the parking spaces. For instance, a fully loaded fuel tanker can only dock in the deep water at the end of Pier 1 closest to the container yard. That's where the sugar ship needs to be, too. But, as it so happens, the front berth (1A) is also the preference of the cruise ships.
So who has to move?
"The NCL-America people have been very cooperative; they're a class act," said Pfister. "If we can, we just slide them down to 1C and part of 1B" while giving the fuel tanker or other vessels priority.
"The volume has increased, but nobody's been kicked out," continued Pfister. "Nobody has to sit out there and cut doughnuts (circle the waters outside the harbor until a space opens up)."
"If we can't accommodate the cruise ships, they've said they'll go somewhere else (in Hawaii). They know that if they make the sugar people mad, that's right behind the canoe clubs - with more power."
But that brings up another point: the growth of Maui. In less than three years, the total number of cruise ship passengers entering Kahului Harbor will leap from 100,000 to more than 500,000. The proposed Superferry could have two vessels dropping off and picking up people and vehicles. As the population continues to rise, so does the demand for cargo from overseas.
"Stretching the envelope of those available (docking) times might not be so desirable," said Fukunaga. "If you don't do anything (to the harbor), what does that mean? You have to continue the dialogue."
Many foresee the day when Maui will outgrow its little port. A stretch along the west breakwater once considered for a long pier for cruise ships probably will never come to be because of impacts to the coral reef and the incoming surge.
Some harbor users hope the state will start looking at expanding on the Hana side of the facility; others have suggested the construction take place at Maalaea or Lahaina to give residents another option in case Kahului should be closed because of a tidal wave or other event.
In either case, costs will be enormous - and prompt another controversy. The state a decade ago conducted a survey of possible sites for a second deep-draft commercial harbor on Maui, and suggestions for Kihei, Maalaea, Olowalu and Launiupoko all drew strong opposition.
Any harbor proposals would face significant environmental concerns, in terms of the impacts on the natural environment as well as social impacts in promoting growth with more cruise ships and ferry boats that could damage the very charm that makes Maui so attractive.
For now, the waters at Kahului Harbor have calmed down, but as Fukunaga pointed out, the dialogue has to continue.
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