Maui judge holding keys to Hawaii Superferry
HONOLULU - Once again, a Maui judge holds the keys to the Hawaii Superferry, whose operators had hoped to resume interisland voyages this week.
Maui Judge Joseph Cardoza scheduled arguments in court today over a request to lift an order barring the new high-speed ferry from starting service.
Cardoza could decide immediately to clear the way for the Superferry to sail daily from Oahu to Maui and Kauai and back.
Or he could leave his order against the ferry in place despite a new law intended to nullify it. That would endanger the islands’ first interisland car and passenger service, which owners have threatened to take elsewhere if it can’t start up soon.
Cardoza ruled last month that the Superferry couldn’t operate while the state conducted an environmental study, but then the state Legislature stepped in with a law quickly signed by Gov. Linda Lingle that allows the ferry, with restrictions, to resume service while an environmental assessment is completed.
After the law passed, Superferry executives said they wanted to be making trips by now. It’s unclear how quickly it would set sail if Cardoza gives the $300 million project his go-ahead.
Hawaii Superferry officials won’t comment on their plans until after the hearing, said Terry O’Halloran, director for business development for the Superferry. The Superferry’s Web site, www.hawaiisuperferry.com, hasn’t changed since the beginning of the month, when a message was posted saying it could resume service “within the next two weeks.” There has been no announcement of when scores of laid-off employees will be rehired.
Environmental groups will ask Cardoza to keep the Superferry docked in Honolulu because it could cause “irreparable harm” to endangered whales, spread invasive species and clog traffic on the more rural islands, said Irene Bowie, executive director for Maui Tomorrow.
Bowie said limited conditions enacted by the Legislature don’t go far enough. She wants more strict speed limits in shallow whale-populated waters and government vehicle inspections.
“The conditions as they are now aren’t strong enough, and we’re still hopeful the environment will be protected,” Bowie said. “Judge Cardoza has been very fair. He has the best interest of the people and environment of Hawaii in mind.”
Cardoza initially ruled in favor of the ferry in 2005, but then he stalled it last month after four weeks of testimony and a unanimous Hawaii Supreme Court decision requiring an environmental study.
Attorney Isaac Hall, who represents the three environmental groups who sued the Superferry in 2005, said he will argue that the new Hawaii Superferry law is unconstitutional and that Cardoza should hold more evidentiary hearings.
“The conditions attached by the Legislature and the governor are not going to mitigate that harm,” Hall said.
Even if Cardoza decides in the Superferry’s favor, the company’s troubles aren’t over yet.
A separate court hearing before Circuit Judge Joel August is scheduled for Monday over his restriction on the ferry requiring that only two cars a minute be allowed to exit the ferry site on Maui.
Deputy Attorney General William Wynhoff has said that requirement would cause “big, big problems” because at that pace, it could take close to two hours just to unload up to 200 vehicles from the ferry.
Finally, if and when the ferry does start daily trips, it will have to deal with protesters who have pledged to block the boat by jumping in harbor waters like they did in their last successful protest off Kauai on Aug. 27. Eventually, the ferry had to return to Honolulu without docking.
The Coast Guard and police have said they’ll be ready for protesters this time.
“It’s not an easy situation. Everyone involved recognizes that,” said Coast Guard spokesman Lt. John Titchen. “Our goal is to ensure everyone is safe first and foremost and ensure that everyone abides by the law. We will enforce the security zone as safely as we can.”
Kauai protesters will be permitted in a demonstration area - on land, not in the water, he said. The Maui security zone currently extends 100 yards around the Superferry, but that may be expanded to all of Kahului Harbor before the boat starts service.
The 350-foot catamaran plans to cruise across the choppy Pacific waters between islands at 42 mph, carrying 800 passengers and their vehicles. Slower speeds are required in some areas where whales might be swimming.
A second ferry under construction in Mobile, Ala., is intended to serve the Big Island in 2009.