January 2004

Hawaii Superferry signs agreement to buy two newly built 900-passenger, 280-vehicle vessels.

April 2004

By an overwhelming margin, the U.S. House passed a $275 billion highway bill that includes $62.4 million during the next six years for ferry service in Hawaii and Alaska.

June 2004

A traditional Hawaiian blessing is held in Mobile, Ala., marking the start of construction for the first of two ferries that will transport passengers, cargo and vehicles around the islands. Construction of the state-of-the-art catamarans — the largest aluminum vessels ever built in the United States — is starting six months earlier than scheduled. They are being constructed by Alabama-based Austal USA for $75 million each, said Timothy Dick, chairman of Hawaii Superferry Inc.

October 2004

The state's plan to add dock space and other shipping facilities within Kahului Harbor collides with a thriving canoe paddling community and other recreational users of Maui's main port.

Foes of the Department of Transportation plan complain it could end up destroying a surf spot, wiping out the harbor beach and severely restricting canoeing in the only protected waters on Maui's north shore. They also argue the plan would lead to industrialization of the Kahului waterfront and an excessive amount of street traffic in an already congested area.

January 2005

Hawai'i Superferry, which hopes to start an interisland ferry as a low-cost alternative to air travel, has secured more than $200 million in private and government money and is on track to begin service in early 2007, officials said yesterday. However, the company still needs about $40 million in improvements to state harbors to make its operations a reality, according to John Garibaldi, the company's chief executive officer.

February 2005

Some of the same environmental interests that helped derail expansion of Kahului Airport have set their sights on the Hawai'i Superferry, demanding that it undergo a full and lengthy environmental review process. And they're getting hefty support from the Kaua'i County Council, Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa and shipping company officials, who have joined those insisting on an environmental impact statement to examine potential problems with the high-speed ferry. The push for an environmental review also appears to have the backing of some state lawmakers, with a Senate bill requiring an environmental impact statement proceeding through the Legislature following approval by the Committee on Energy, Environment and International Affairs.

Hawai'i Superferry CEO John Garibaldi said requiring an EIS would kill the project. He said June 30 is the "drop-dead date" by which all government approvals should be in place, allowing a $162 million order for two vessels to go through and assuring investors the project has the green light.

March 2005

Hawai'i Superferry will not have to do an environmental impact statement before it begins interisland operations, dodging a hurdle ferry executives said could have scuttled the project.

A Senate committee killed a bill that would have required the lengthy and expensive environmental review, apparently agreeing with the state Transportation Department, which said an EIS is not required by law. He promised that ferry officials would continue to address environmental concerns raised by opponents and would soon begin an extensive public outreach program in all counties to inform the public about its plans to mitigate potential problems, including harbor and traffic congestion, caused by ferry operations.

July 2005

Maui judge throws out a lawsuit by the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and the Kahului Harbor Coalition had demanded that the interisland ferry undergo a full and lengthy environmental review before starting up. However, 2nd Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza ruled that the groups had no standing to bring the lawsuit, and that the state and the Hawai'i Superferry properly followed environmental law. John Garibaldi, Hawai'i Superferry Inc. chief executive, hailed the ruling as a "significant milestone" that will permit the company to complete financing arrangements and construction of its first ship. Isaac Hall, attorney for plaintiffs, said that he would recommend an appeal of Cardoza's ruling and that the groups might explore whether the state violated federal statutes aimed at protecting endangered species. "The citizens of Maui are entitled to more environmental review," he said.

August 2005

Environmental groups open a second legal front in their effort to require a full environmental impact statement for an interisland ferry project. The groups filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court to fight a categorical exclusion issued March 15 by the federal Maritime Administration that excludes the Hawai'i Superferry project from federal environmental laws, according to Isaac Hall, the Maui attorney representing the organizations.

September 2005

A U.S. district judge dismisses an environmental lawsuit against Hawai'i Superferry, clearing the way for the company to move forward on financing and other plans to begin interisland service by early 2007. Judge Helen Gillmor dismissed the suit brought by the Sierra Club and other environmental groups seeking to require the Superferry firm to conduct lengthy environmental studies before proceeding with its plans. Requiring a lengthy assessment of possible environmental impacts would have caused investors to back away, halt construction of the firm's first ferry and jeopardize the entire project, Superferry officials said. The project has been in development for several years, but was announced in 2003. The Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow, the Kahului Harbor Coalition and Friends of Haleakala National Park argued that the federal Maritime Administration should have required an environmental review of the project before signing off on a loan guarantee crucial to the project's success.

April 2006

State senators have threatened to remove $10 million in state money for harbor improvements for the Hawai'i Superferry unless the company is more open with the public about its plans. The state Legislature approved $40 million in harbor improvements last session that would be spent over two years. But the Senate Ways and Means Committee has cut $10 million of the money to show its displeasure with the company. The money could still be placed back in the state budget when Senate and House lawmakers meet in conference committee.

State Sen. Shan Tsutsui, D-4th (Kahului), and state Sen. J. Kalani English, D-6th (E. Maui, Moloka'i, Lana'i), said the company has been unresponsive to public concerns about the project since it narrowly obtained the state money last session. John Garibaldi, chief executive officer of Hawai'i Superferry, is scheduled to speak at an informational briefing on Wednesday at the state Capitol. Garibaldi said the company has been talking with individual lawmakers and with community groups across the Islands and was surprised and disappointed by the criticism. "We just see this as some misinformation that's coming out there that is unfortunate, that people don't have the full story on what communications we are doing," he said.

February 2007

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — A joint state Senate committee heard overwhelming testimony on Kaua'i yesterday — much of it from people wearing red shirts with anti-Superferry slogans — for requiring an environmental impact statement for the Hawai'i Superferry. Speakers on Kaua'i expressed concern about the movement of drugs and alien species, impacts on traffic, increased crime, and other issues. Some demanded an environmental impact statement, but many argued against the Superferry outright.

"The impact is mauka-makai, to put it simply," said Jeff Chandler, of Kaua'i's north shore. "The superferry is so detrimental to this island that if you don't do anything, we will," he told a joint hearing of the Senate committees on Energy and Environment and on Transportation and International Affairs.

Legislators hearing testimony on Senate Bill 1276, which calls for the EIS, included Sens. Kalani English, D-6th (East Maui, Moloka'i, Lana'i), Ron Menor, D-17th (Mililani-Waipi'o), Gary Hooser, D-7th (Kaua'i-Ni'ihau), and Shan Tsutsui, D-4th (Wailuku-Pa'ia), and Rep. Mina Morita, D-14th (Kapa'a-Hanalei). They were to fly to Maui yesterday afternoon for another hearing late in the day on that island.

March 2007

The Hawai'i Superferry would be able to launch in July as planned while the state conducts an environmental study on its potential effect on state harbors, under a compromise agreed to by the state Senate. Neighbor Island senators backed off a demand that the Superferry conduct an environmental impact statement even if it delayed the July launch.

March 2007

Hoping to end any anxiety about the summer launch of the interisland Hawai'i Superferry, lawmakers killed a bill that would have forced the state to perform an environmental review of the ferry service's impact on harbors. "It is not fair to single out the Hawai'i Superferry and require them" to do an environmental impact statement, said state Rep. Joseph Souki, D-8th (Wailuku, Waihe'e, Waiehu), chairman of the House Transportation Committee.

Souki said in a commentary to The Advertiser that he has decided not go forward with the bill, a move he said essentially gives the Superferry a green light to start operations in July. "It is not fair to require an EIS now, at the eleventh hour, when the (Department of Transportation) told the Superferry from the start that one was not required," Souki said. "This sends a terrible message about doing business in Hawai'i."

Neighbor Island senators who wanted an environmental impact statement on the Superferry were disappointed, along with environmentalists who have unsuccessfully tried to force a review through the courts. The senators had argued that a review could take place even as the Superferry launched service between O'ahu, Maui and Kaua'i in July. A Big Island route is planned for 2009.

But the Transportation Department and Superferry developers opposed the bill, claiming it was possible an environmental review would have interfered with the launch.

April 2007

Hawaii Superferry announced its interisland vessel has successfully completed sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico. The trials by shipbuilder Austal USA are part of a review and testing of the systems, machinery and equipment aboard the four-story vessel set to begin service from Honolulu in July.

"Sea trials went very well and we are extremely pleased with the capabilities of this vessel," said Dan Spiegel, Austal's chief operating officer. "It's truly remarkable to experience the power and control of this catamaran.

"Completing sea trials in only five days and achieving or surpassing all performance parameters specified for the vessel is an excellent result."

Terry White, executive vice president of operations, called completion of the sea trials a "key milestone event" for the 900-passenger, 250-car ship built especially for Hawaiian waters.

June 2007

The Hawai'i Superferry is scheduled to make its long-awaited arrival on O'ahu today just hours after the company begins to book reservations for passengers who want to take a ride on the new interisland transportation alternative.

Travel reservations can be made online or by telephone beginning at 6 a.m. Hawai'i time today. The company has yet to announce the exact starting date it will carry paying passengers. The company initially is taking reservations for travel beginning Sept. 5 and running through Jan. 15, 2008.

The 350-foot specially designed catamaran Alakai is billed by the company as "the largest aluminum ship ever built in the United States." It's been on an 18-day journey from Mobile, Ala., with a refueling stop in Los Angeles.

Terry O'Halloran, director of business development for the Superferry, said the Alakai will be visible from several points on O'ahu as it makes its way into Honolulu Harbor for a small private welcoming ceremony at Pier 19.

It can hold up to 282 cars and 866 passengers.

July 1, 2007

Nahalia Faurot was among the thousands who jockeyed for position from Diamond Head to Waikiki to Downtown Honolulu to lay eyes on the leviathan catamaran Alakai as it passed by en route to Pier 19 at Honolulu Harbor. One day soon, the specially designed vessel will begin to ferry folks to and from O'ahu, Maui and Kaua'i.

The Superferry was the talk of the town even among those who didn't watch it come in.

"Hey, guess what's coming in right now?" April Walker, bartender at Honolulu Hank's on Nu'uanu Avenue, asked the person she was speaking with on the phone. "The Superferry. It's coming in. I'm so excited I can't stand it. I just want to go out on it and spend the day. I don't even want to get off. I just want to ride around on it and party."

Patron Edward Eastman wondered aloud if the ferry would actually carry both people and cars to Neighbor Islands. Exactly correct, he was told.