EDITORIAL
Cruise line deal does require more answers
Few things in politics are exactly as they seem, so there is undoubtedly more to learn about Arizona Sen. John McCain's diatribe against a cruise industry deal engineered by Hawai'i's Sen. Dan Inouye and Rep. Neil Abercrombie.
McCain says the deal, in which Norwegian Cruise Line would get exclusive rights to operate interisland trips in Island waters, is "disgraceful" and an insult to taxpayers and consumers.
Whew!
It's entirely possible that this unusual deal is anything but a disgrace, and it certainly will be a boon for Hawai'i's tourism industry. But thus far, explanations on how this is entirely in the best interests of taxpayers and consumers have been less than complete.
McCain has called for a General Accounting Office investigation and possibly even hearings by his Senate Commerce Committee. If either of these produce clarity and answers, they will be worthwhile.
We have our own questions:
• While it makes sense to carve out an exemption from the Passenger Vessel Services Act for Hawai'i, since there is no domestic passenger shipping industry to protect, why is it limited to three ships operated by Norwegian?
• Is it because Norwegian has agreed to take over, and finish, two ships that were to be built in a domestic shipyard in Mississippi? That plan, worked out by Inouye and Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott, would have produced two domestically built passenger ships for American Classic Voyages, now bankrupt.
Those ships are now being finished in Germany and will become two of the three in the Norwegian interisland fleet.
• What happened to some $185 million in loan guarantees that were lost when the domestic shipbuilding project collapsed? Who did Norwegian pay for the two partially completed ships, and could some of that money go to repay the lost loan guarantees?
The bottom line for Hawai'i is to have a dependable, first-class interisland cruise industry. Norwegian appears ready and able to provide just that.
It is important that this important aspect of our visitor industry move forward, but not under a political cloud.
