The state House of Representatives approved a bill today that allows the ferry to resume trips from O'ahu to Maui and Kaua'i without having to first complete a study on its potential to harm whales, spread invasive species or lead to further urbanization of the islands.

The House bill passed with only nine "no" votes out of the 51-member body.

Leaders in the House said they're willing to consider incorporating into their bill operating conditions suggested by the Senate.

The House bill leaves environmental enforcement up to Gov. Linda Lingle, while the Senate proposal set a few requirements for the ferry and included a provision protecting taxpayers from lawsuits.

"We have to concede a little, they have to concede a little," said House Speaker Calvin Say, D-St. Louis Heights-Wilhelmina Rise.

Superferry officials have said the high-speed, 350-foot catamaran could be voyaging between the islands again in two weeks if the bill passes.

Both the House and Senate measures fall short of environmentalists' requests for speed limits on the ferry to avoid whale strikes and mandatory vehicle cleanings to remove invasive species. An amendment submitted by Rep. Hermina Morita, D-Hanalei-Kapa'a, including those proposals was turned away in a House vote.

The Superferry has said either of those conditions would have killed their business plan and forced them to leave Hawai'i.

Morita compared the "arrogance and speed" of the Legislature's action to the Titanic.

"We are heading toward ... a metaphoric iceberg," she said. "We are finding a way to circumvent the law."

Lawmakers are trying to pass a bill allowing the Superferry to sail so they can override court rulings that said the boat service couldn't operate until the state completes an environmental study.

The House and Senate are not far apart.

Proposals in both chambers call for the governor to create and enforce environmental rules for the Superferry, provide oversight of the governor's actions, prohibit the company from suing the state and open an investigation into why the Superferry was granted an exception to Hawai'i's environmental laws.

But the Senate version has additional provisions forcing the Superferry to apply for a government permit that could set operating conditions while giving some liability protection for whale strikes, to request an observer to assist in avoiding endangered humpback whales, to notify passengers of bans on food and soil transportation, and to inspect vehicles before boarding.

"What the Senate did was consider the testimony and come up with a good compromise," said Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, D-Nanakuli-Makua. "Everyone seems to be OK with the bill. No one will ever be perfectly happy."

The Senate version also specifies that the lawsuit protection for the state only applies to past actions and leaves the Superferry free to take future legal recourse.

Superferry officials insisted on this point, and House leadership has agreed to incorporate it into the final bill, which must be finished by the end of the emergency session Wednesday.

The $300 million Superferry project was to start service with a four-story catamaran built to carry up to 866 passengers and 282 vehicles on two daily round trips.