KAHULUI, Maui — Hawaii Superferry suffered yet another setback when the company announced yesterday it was delaying its relaunch for a week because of storm damage to its pier at Kahului Harbor.

The new interisland ferry service between Honolulu and Maui was scheduled to start tomorrow, after having to put off plans to begin Dec. 1 because of earlier weather-related problems at the harbor.

A Hawaii Superferry announcement released last night said it will restart Dec. 13, and that passengers who booked travel between tomorrow and Dec. 12 would be contacted and offered refunds or a new bookings.

The state Department of Transportation was expected to start repairs today at Kahului Harbor's Pier 2, which was damaged during Monday's "unusually severe storm," said Michael Formby, head of the agency's Harbors Division.

"That storm was definitely one of the most severe storms in recent memory," he said.

Swells at the harbor entrance were estimated to have 20-foot faces, and waves washed over Pier 1. Formby said surges at the end of Pier 2, where a ferry barge is supposed to be tied up to load and unload vehicles, reached 6 feet at about 4:45 p.m. Monday.

"You just can't plan for stuff like that," he said.

The barge had been moved from the end of the pier after sustaining minor damage during a smaller swell Nov. 14, to alongside the pier where the 350-foot high-speed ferry will be docking. The effects from Monday's intense wave action snapped four lines securing the barge to the pier and uprooted two mooring bollards that were attached to two other lines, Formby said.

Additional lines prevented the barge from breaking free, and two tugboats helped keep the barge under control until conditions subsided.

The barge suffered the slightest of damage, less serious than the dents it sustained during the Nov. 14 incident, Formby said.

One of the bollards that was ripped out Monday was a post and the other a plate installed into the pier deck. Since the replacements will have to be cemented in place, it will take at least three days for the concrete to set, he said.

In the meantime, an engineer with the American Bureau of Shipping will survey the barge to certify it is structurally and mechanically sound, Formby said. A similar inspection was done after the earlier damage.

The Coast Guard is monitoring the situation.

The barge will have to be moved and resecured to the end of Pier 2 to prepare for the resumption of Hawaii Superferry service. The ferry will have to make at least one trip to the Kahului port before regular commercial service resumes to realign with the barge.

With further bad weather forecast for the Islands, Formby said, it was more prudent to be conservative in estimating the time it will take to prepare the barge and pier for the ferry.

He said other vessels in the harbor experienced similar difficulties Monday. NCL's Pride of America cruise ship lost four lines and had to depart early to wait out the surge in waters outside the harbor. The cruise ship returned to port yesterday morning.

The storm surge also prevented the 579-foot Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines vehicle carrier, Jean Anne, from unloading.

Hawaii Superferry will offer a daily roundtrip between O'ahu and Maui, leaving Honolulu at 6:30 a.m. and arriving in Kahului at 10:15 a.m. The ferry will depart Kahului at 11:15 a.m. and arrive in Honolulu at 2:15 p.m.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.