Vehicles are inspected before being allowed to board the Hawaii Superferry this morning as the vessel prepares to make a trip to Maui.

Passengers check in for today's voyage to Maui — the ferry's first scheduled service in nearly four months.

Tammy Chang of Eugene, Ore., takes a photo of the sunrise once inside the Superferry.

Ben Brooking and Tammy Chang of Eugene, Ore., enjoy the view as the Superferry makes it way out of Honolulu Harbor this morning.

Passengers get a spectacular view of Diamond Head as Hawaii Superferry makes its way to Maui this morning. The vessel was only about a fourth full.

University of Hawai'i students, from left, Whitney Kunitake, Phina Gogue, Kainoa Oshiro, Mokihana Silva and Duke Sparks, enjoy breakfast on the ship before the ferry sets sail. The students are returning home to Maui and are shipping their cars with them.

After one hour and 10 minutes into its voyage to Maui, the Hawaii Superferry was motoring along the northern side of Moloka'i.

A few passengers decided to sleep on the long, padded seats as the Maui-bound ferry encountered rough seas near Moloka'i.

A state law enforcement officer on Maui patrols near a security zone line strung from the dock to a buoy with a U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat in the background. Security measures were in place as the Hawaii Superferry made its way today to Maui.

A rainbow appears as the Superferry nears Kahului harbor on Maui today. The trip from Honolulu took about three hours.

The Hawaii Superferry makes its way into Kahului harbor on Maui around 10 a.m. today as patrols from the U.S. Coast Guard and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources enforce a security zone around the Alakai. Protesters in an outrigger canoe paddle out to meet the ship outside of the security zone.

Kaiulani Hugg of People for the Preservation of Kauai holds an upside-down Hawaiian flag in protest of the Hawaii Superferry when it arrived on Maui today. Hugg situated herself on the side of Pu’unene Street where vehicles were exiting Kahului harbor.