Maintaining a competitive and balanced cruise industry is always a delicate proposition, but it seems evident that a proposed federal rule favors one side too much.

So the Lingle administration has taken the right tack by opposing the rule, which was offered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.

That proposal would require foreign-flagged vessels to include a 48-hour stop in a foreign port on any U.S. cruise schedule, an unrealistic burden that is meant to give some competitive advantage to U.S.-flagged vessels.

But it became even clearer yesterday why Hawai'i needs Island cruises to be a viable business for both domestic and foreign companies. NCL Corp., currently the primary beneficiary of a rule change, announced its plans to remove Pride of Aloha from its Hawai'i schedule, the second time in recent weeks the company has announced a redeployment of its ships here to serve other routes.

The decision will leave Pride of America as the only U.S.-flagged cruise ship plying Hawaiian waters after May.

Hawai'i's elected officials have been divided on the proposed rule change. The state's congressional delegation cites flagrant violations by foreign ships that skirt existing stopover requirements. They add that these companies don't have to meet the same labor, health, safety and environmental laws as U.S. ships.

However, opponents counter that the primary casualty in a marketplace without healthy competition is the consumer and the job market. NCL made a business decision to move both the Pride of Aloha and the Pride of Hawai'i - each employing a crew of 950 - and that underscores why this tourism sector must remain open to competition.

The last thing the state needs is an additional disincentive for foreign-flagged cruise ships to sail here.

Hawai'i is certainly not alone in its resistance to the federal proposal. Officials in port cities on both coasts have telegraphed their worries about the impact on their own cruise industries to federal officials - and, fortunately, they appear to be listening, vowing to proceed with caution.

That's a relief. Foreign-flagged ships can't afford such stringent rules - and the Islands can't afford to lose their business.