The September 11 attack | Coping with the aftermath
Merchants watching Aloha Tower dock shuffle

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Local agents for international cruise ships are shuffling berths for arrivals at Honolulu Harbor in the wake of last week's discontinuation of Hawai'i's two exclusively interisland cruises and heightened security procedures following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

With the Patriot and its sister ship no longer sailing, the Aloha Tower dock is available for other vessels. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

But the additions — including the 2,200-passenger Norwegian Star to be home-ported beside Aloha Tower every Sunday starting Dec. 16 — won't completely offset the loss of the 800-plus-passenger Independence and 1,212-passenger Patriot that tied up at the same dock every Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Still, Velma Hulihe'e-Carstensen, marketplace marketing director, is encouraged by requests for berth relocations from Pier 2 alongside the Foreign Trade Zone warehouse and another mostly industrial dock, Pier 19, to the air-conditioned Pier 10/11 terminal.

"It's just a whole higher experience of customer comfort and expectations," she said, adding that cruise passengers are one of the center's major market segments. "They greatly have an impact to the marketplace."

Retailers and restaurants at the festival shopping center are paying particular attention to all the cruise ship activity because many are suffering from lost revenue because of the drop in tourists coming to Hawai'i.

Which ships dock at which pier is complicated. Berth selection generally depends on availability, whether passengers are embarking and/or disembarking, and the servicing needs of a ship. Aloha Tower berths, available to a variety of vessels, are allocated on a first-request basis.

Harbor officials say that in the past week, 21 scheduled cruise ship arrivals through next year have been moved from industrial piers to Aloha Tower, though a few are moving the opposite way or have elected not to move.

Skip Howard, marine manager for Transmarine Navigation Corp., which services Princess and P&O cruise lines in Honolulu, said Transmarine has and will continue to book the trade-zone Pier 2 before Pier 10/11 at Aloha Tower if it is available.

"It's just cheaper to service the ship," he said, adding that Aloha Tower has poor parking and is more difficult to maneuver buses and load ships. "We don't have anything against the merchants. The merchants want the business. I don't blame them."

Similarly, Waldron Steamship Co. Ltd., agent for the Norwegian Sky, changed the ship's berth from Pier 10/11 to Pier 2 next Tuesday because of "security and operational needs," according to Troy Brown, Waldron assistant manager.

These moves don't sit well with Ron Imanaka, manager of marketplace tenant Black Pearl Gallery. He believes too many cruise ships are avoiding Pier 10/11 for economic reasons. "They don't care about passenger experience because their costs are too great to be justified," he said.

Other cruise ship berth changes to more industrial piers have been forced by Coast Guard security requirements heightened following the terrorist attacks. Shipping agents are required to secure terminal areas, which means they can no longer dock cruise ships at Pier 9, Aloha Tower's makai dock. The measure will be enforced through March, but could be extended.

That means the Japanese cruise ship Asuka, which is due to arrive in July, may have to dock at Pier 2 instead of Pier 9.

Paul Kang, owner of marketplace shop Island Coffee & Cigar, isn't happy about that. He said business typically doubles when a Japanese cruise ship pulls up to Aloha Tower. "When they are here it is the busiest day of the year for us," he said.

Masato Nishio, owner of Aloha Tower Sundries, said: "If a ship stays at Pier 2, (passengers) don't come to the shopping center."

Nishio, who can see ships at Pier 10/11 from his store, said he gets a lot of business when they're in port. "It's just like a whole hotel moving in," he said. "The hurt is quite a bit if they don't come."

Many merchants are relieved that the Norwegian Star will be at Pier 10/11 every Sunday. The ship will account for about half of the 100 Honolulu port calls by international cruise ships next year.

Kaare Bakke, vice president of port and marine operations for Norwegian Cruise Line, said it would be easier and more cost-effective to berth the Star at Pier 2, "but for appearance and expectations, Aloha Tower is more suited for guests. There's not much space there, but it can be done. We plan to do it."

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.