Norwegian looking to expand

By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer

Norwegian Cruise Line said yesterday that discussions about changes in its Hawai'i cruises revolve around the possibility of expanding service in the Islands rather than ending its Fanning Island itinerary.

The Norwegian Star will be joined by another Norwegian Cruise ship in September. Company officials say the new ship will make 10- and 11-day cruises, and, like the Norwegian Star, will stop at Fanning Island. Advertiser library photo • Dec. 15, 2001

"Fanning Island, to many people's surprise, has become one of the passenger highlights of our Hawai'i-based cruises," the company said.

Last week, a spokeswoman for the office of U.S. Sen. Dan K. Inouye said the carrier had been in talks with the senator about the possibility of becoming the dedicated cruise line in Hawai'i. Jennifer Goto Sabas, Inouye's chief of staff, said talks were ongoing and it was unclear whether discussions about an exemption to the Passenger Services Act — requiring all foreign-owned, foreign-built cruise ships with foreign crews to stop at a foreign port between U.S. ports — would be specific to Norwegian or could set a model for other cruise lines.

Yesterday, Norwegian said its discussions with Inouye's office have been exploratory "to understand his criteria for supporting a broadening of the cruise options available in Hawai'i."

Norwegian also said that in its talks the company has "expressed a willingness to make further investments in a manner that best benefits both the Hawai'i economy and cruise tourists."

Norwegian spokesman Steve Hirano said the investments refer to the company's commitment to offering additional cruises in Hawai'i. The company has "looked at Hawai'i as a very important market," Hirano said, and will bring a new ship to Hawai'i for 10- and 11-day cruises starting in September. Those cruises, as scheduled, would also stop in Fanning Island.

The company did not release further details on its discussions.

Inouye has said he would consider supporting an exemption to the Passenger Services Act to allow foreign-registered ships to operate domestically, but only under strict conditions.

Miami-based Norwegian began operating seven-day Hawai'i interisland cruises late last year. The company is a subsidiary of NCL Holdings, which was acquired by Hong Kongibased Star Cruises in 2000. Under the Passenger Services Act, only U.S.-built, -owned and -crewed cruise ships may take on and discharge passengers between consecutive U.S. ports.

To comply with the law, Norwegian's seven-day Hawai'i cruises must include a roundtrip to the island of Fanning, about 600 miles south of Honolulu.

"We've all talked about how great it would be to have an exemption," said Kraig Kennedy, vice president of McCabe Hamilton & Renny Co. Ltd. and chairman of the maritime committee of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i. "If we had an exemption here in Hawai'i that didn't require that foreign-port visit, you would see, I think, a lot more cruise activity here in the Islands because then the ships wouldn't have that long transit."

Robert Brand, assistant food and beverage manager aboard the Norwegian Star, said passengers' reactions to the Fanning Island trip, and the federal law mandating it, have improved since the cruises started late last year.

At first, passengers wanted to cruise only the Hawaiian Islands and were wary of the days-long roundtrip to Fanning, but "now they understand more," Brand said.

Still, Brand said the requirement for inter-U.S. cruises to have U.S. crews and U.S.-built and -owned ships is "so out of date now."

Brand estimated that a very small percentage of the ship's crew of 1,100 is American. He and other workers said they have months-long employment contracts with time off, but no days off — a work schedule that could pose a problem for an all-U.S. crew.

Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470, or at kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.