December is a month of anticipation, and few things in recent memory have been more anticipated, and lamented, than the return of the Hawaii Superferry.

The new high-speed interisland ferry service will relaunch Saturday with one daily roundtrip between Honolulu and Maui.

Sailings to Kaua'i remain on hold while Superferry officials work to soothe community opposition.

All but a handful of the company's 300 employees have reported back to work following a three-month delay of the ferry service caused by a series of court rulings that sided with environmental groups and others concerned about the vessel's impact.

The issue was ultimately resolved when the Legislature and Gov. Linda Lingle passed a law allowing Hawaii Superferry to resume operations during an environmental review.

The 350-foot ferry, capable of carrying 866 passengers and 282 cars, is set to sail at 6:30 a.m. Saturday from Honolulu to Kahului.

For Superferry workers and supporters, the relaunch couldn't come soon enough. "Everybody is beyond thrilled that we're back to work," said Maui port utility inspector Kim Kaya.

The former Harmony Airways employee suffered a blow to her pocketbook and morale in April when the airline halted Maui flights, and she found herself out of work again when Hawaii Superferry furloughed most of its workforce in October. She spent the time "waiting and praying" the ferry would be able to resume operations after the short startup Aug. 26 and 27.

Returning to the company's Kahului Harbor site was like a family reunion, Kaya said.

"It was like one big, happy family. ... What we're doing now to get ready is dirty work, but everyone is happy to do it," she said. "After working for airlines for many, many years, this is a solid company."

Hawaii Superferry is advising customers to expect more thorough preboarding vehicle and passenger screenings for agricultural products, stowaway pests and other prohibited items such as fishing nets, 'opihi and beach rocks.

Visual inspections will be done of the interior and under the hood and trunk. Vehicles caked with mud or otherwise excessively dirty will be turned away. If prohibited items are discovered, passengers will have two options: turn the items over for disposal or be denied boarding.

Superferry director of port operations Roy Aukai said employees will undergo additional training this week on the expanded screenings, Department of Land and Natural Resources requirements and other operating conditions imposed by Lingle.

Another loose end to be tidied up before the ferry Alakai returns to Maui are court-imposed traffic control measures, including restriping of South Pu'unene Avenue at the Ka'ahumanu Avenue intersection. That job is scheduled to be done Tuesday, said DOT spokesman Scott Ishikawa.

WHEELS WELCOME

Dara Fukuhara of 'Aiea is among those looking forward to booking passage on the ferry for business and pleasure. The public relations professional has a form of muscular dystrophy and finds travel with a wheelchair difficult.

At home, she uses a modified van with a wheelchair ramp to get around. "That's something that's really hard to find: accessible transportation on the Neighbor Islands," said Fukuhara, vice chair of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Hawai'i. "I went to a conference and it was difficult just to find a van that could transport me to the hotel I was staying at."

On the ferry, she can take her van with her on Neighbor Island trips.

"With the Superferry, it gives people with disabilities an alternative way to travel. It allows us to be more independent," Fukuhara said.

Many businesses also are expected to take advantage of the new means of travel between islands.

Speedi Shuttle fleet manager Craig Philips said the Maui-based company plans to use the ferry to shuttle its nine- and 12-seat vans around the state to meet shifting demands. The company drives airline flight crews and passengers from airports to hotels on four islands.

The ferry also will transport vehicles back to Maui for servicing, he said.

"We think it's absolutely fantastic. If we have an influx of Kaua'i reservations, I can grab a couple buses from other islands," Philips said. "We'll be able to satisfy demand a lot faster."

The company has been using Young Brothers to transport vehicles, but that is more costly and requires advance booking, he said.

KAUA'I PLANS UNCERTAIN

Terry O'Halloran, Hawaii Superferry director of business development, said it is still uncertain when the ferry will resume service to Kaua'i. The company is meeting with elected and community leaders to smooth over opposition that led to protests blocking the Alakai from docking at Nawiliwili Harbor.

"It's important to us that we go back to Kaua'i in the right way at the right time," O'Halloran said. "We're really listening to what the concerns are of the community there and how we can best bring service back to Kaua'i."

County Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura, who opposed allowing ferry service before completion of an environmental review, said she is scheduled to meet this week with company officials. Yukimura said anti-Superferry sentiment remains strong on Kaua'i.

"There hasn't been a reconciliation of the division or of the issues the community has raised. I can't say it's changed," she said. "If the meetings don't bring about reconciliation or change, then they are no better than the previous meetings they held, which were pro forma meetings held to be able to say they had meetings."

Yukimura said she does feel there is room for compromise.

"There's a huge consensus in the state that people want the benefits of the Superferry without the potential negative impacts. ... Most of the people on the island are not saying no Superferry at all. They are saying the Superferry should go through the right planning process so we can minimize the adverse impacts."

O'Halloran admits there may be some hesitancy among the traveling public in booking passage on the Alakai until the controversy settles down, but he also sees a sense of "big relief" that the ferry is finally coming.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.