By Frank Cho
Advertiser Staff Writer

Norwegian Cruise Line today said it will homeport a newer, bigger ship than originally planned in Hawai‘i later this year because of higher-than-expected costs related to removing the casino from the older SuperStar Leo, which was to arrive in December.

The new 91,000-ton ship, to be named Norwegian Star, is still under construction in Germany, but is scheduled to be in Hawaii in December.

It will replace the SuperStar Leo, a two-year-old 76,000-ton cruise liner, which was to be home-based in Honolulu and provide year-around cruises.

Recently passed federal legislation sponsored by Sen. Daniel K. Inouye barring cruise ships with casinos aboard from beginning and ending voyages in Hawai‘i threatened to scuttle Norwegian’s plans late last year.

Norwegian said it would comply with the law and planned to remove the casino from the SuperStar Leo, but costs ran high and the company said demand for the cruise has been stronger than expected.

“In looking at the potential demand for this market, we made the decision to utilize a larger and absolutely brand new ship,” Colin Veitch, Norwegian’s president and chief executive officer, said in a written statement.

The Star will be Norwegian’s largest ship, accommodating 2,200 passengers and a crew of 1,100, the company said. It will also be its fastest ship with a maximum speed of 25 knots.

Norwegian’s plan poses the first direct challenge to American Classic Voyages Co., the only cruise company — foreign or domestic — with ships based in Hawai‘i.

The Chicago-based parent of American Hawaii Cruises and United States Lines introduced its second ship to Hawai‘i last year. The 1,212-passenger Patriot joined the smaller Independence in American Classic’s Hawai‘i fleet and by 2004, the company plans to have four Hawai‘i ships.

In 1999, American Classic received a 25-year virtual monopoly on Hawaiian interisland cruising from Congress in exchange for a $1.4 billion deal to build as many as three new ships at Ingalls Shipbuilding. Ingalls is based in Mississippi, home state of Senate Republican leader Trent Lott.

Foreign-flagged ships are barred by federal law from visiting multiple U.S. ports — the backbone of Hawai‘i cruising — unless a foreign destination is on the itinerary. Norwegian plans to deal with this requirement by including a trip to Fanning Island in Kiribati, an island nation about 600 miles south of Hawai‘i.

Following port calls to Miami and Los Angeles, the Star will begin its Hawai‘i cruises Dec. 16, with a seven-day roundtrip to ports on O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i and Fanning.

The Leo will remain with Norwegian’s Star Cruises fleet under its present name.

Frank Cho can be reached by phone at 525-8088, or by e-mail at fcho@honoluluadvertiser.com.