Ten days after announcing it would start a second daily trip between Maui and O'ahu, the Hawaii Superferry reversed course yesterday, putting the additional service on hold.

The Superferry said opposition from Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares caused it to delay launch of the second trip. "The company anticipates starting the second voyage later this spring," the Superferry said in a news release.

The second Maui trip was to help the Superferry make up for lost business due to its inability to sail to Kaua'i. The ferry postponed service to Kaua'i in August after protesters blocked its entrance into Nawiliwili Harbor.

In announcing the second trip to Maui on Jan. 4, John Garibaldi, president and CEO of Hawaii Superferry, said "our business model is dependent on running two trips per day."

But the Maui mayor objected to the second trip, saying the Superferry had not consulted the community and had not fully considered the impact on traffic.

"The community should have a say in something as significant as a second trip to Maui," Tavares said in a news release yesterday. "Particularly when it is so soon after the start of the one daily trip that remains a contentious matter in our community with unresolved issues."

Tavares added, "It is my hope that the company will use this time to reach out to our county and community to address ongoing concerns about traffic impacts, environmental issues and the affect daily trips by the Superferry has to harbor users before adding a second daily trip."

The Superferry had said it wanted to add a second voyage between Maui and O'ahu to boost ridership and cater to growing interest among businesses and other customers.

Terry Halloran, director of business development for Hawaii Superferry, estimated earlier this month that the vessel has been averaging about 200 passengers per trip. The vessel has a capacity of 866 passengers and 282 vehicles.

The company initially started service with its ship the Alakai in late August but was halted by legal challenges on Maui and the protests on Kaua'i. In October, the company laid off 249 of its 308 employees after saying it was losing $650,000 per week.

The Superferry resumed Maui service Dec. 13 but has not set a date to restart service to Kaua'i.

The Superferry announcement of a second daily Maui trip also raised concerns the 349-foot vessel will strike humpback whales while it travels through the whale sanctuary at night, said Irene Bowie, executive director of Maui Tomorrow.

The two spotters placed on the Superferry to avoid whales will not be effective at night at the speeds the Superferry travels, even if the spotters use night vision equipment as the company has proposed, Bowie said.

"I think it's a real issue for them to be traveling at 25 knots through sanctuary waters after dark," Bowie said.

Maui Tomorrow is one of three plaintiffs that went to court to try to force the state Department of Transportation to complete an environmental impact statement on the Superferry before the vessel began operations.

The Superferry originally was to begin operating the second Maui trip tomorrow, leaving Honolulu at 3:15 p.m. and arriving in Kahului at 7, and departing Kahului at 8 p.m. and arriving in Honolulu at 11.

"Customers who have made reservations for travel on the second Maui voyages are being contacted and will be either issued refunds or accommodated on an alternative voyage," the company said.