KAHULUI, Maui — Souvenir hounds and bargain hunters will get a chance to bid on remnants of Hawaii Superferry's short-lived and contentious operations at auctions to be held on Maui and O'ahu.

Everything from restroom trailers, large tents, portable offices, traffic cones, light towers, crowd-control barriers, a backhoe, Superferry shirts and shoe scrubbers will go on the auction block at 10 a.m. today at the former ferry terminal at Kahului Harbor, at Pu'unene and Ka'ahumanu avenues.

The shoe scrubbers were required by the state to address concerns about the transport of weed seeds, ants and other invasive species hiding in hiking boots and other footwear.

The O'ahu auction will take place at 10 a.m. May 23 at Honolulu Harbor Piers 19 and 20. Items include tools, a 10,000-pound power winch, animal carriers, luggage scales and carts, security camera systems, ticket counters, food service items, computers and life preservers.

The auctions are being handled by Pacific Bid LLC.

"It is clear that it is going to take an extended period of time to set the conditions for any future operations in Hawai'i, for example, completing another (environmental impact statement), and, hence, the logic to auction off equipment," Thomas Fargo, Superferry president and chief executive officer, said in an e-mail to The Advertiser.

"We still believe there is a need for a high-speed interisland ferry capability here in Hawai'i."

The company's $85 million Alakai and newly built $95 million Huakai remain at Austal USA's shipyard in Mobile, Ala. "They have not yet been leased but that is our short-term objective," Fargo said.

Hawaii Superferry is in the process of canceling its revocable leases with the state Department of Transportation for harbor space, according to Michael Formby, DOT deputy director of the Harbors Division.

The state has no plans at this point to lease the properties to anyone else or to sell off $40 million worth of barges, ramps and other equipment purchased to load and unload vehicles from the ferries, Formby said.

"It's way too early for that. ... We are awaiting more information from HSF before we make any decisions which might negatively affect their ability to resume service," Formby said in an e-mail to The Advertiser.

The DOT is planning to tow the Kahului Harbor ferry barge to Honolulu once it is inspected for seaworthiness. The troublesome barge, tied up at the end of Pier 2C, was damaged on several occasions during storm surges.

Formby said the state is not ready to give up on Hawaii Superferry, despite this week's Hawai'i Supreme Court ruling rejecting a last-gasp request by the state to reconsider its earlier decision to invalidate a law allowing the ferry to operate before environmental studies are completed.

The DOT is going ahead with an environmental impact statement on ferry-related harbor improvements, and is preparing to release a public notice of the EIS that will be followed by a 30-day comment period, he said.

"I understand HSF's desire to not hold on to assets that would have to be maintained in the interim of any decision to return to Hawai'i, but at the same time it is sad, as their action is interpreted by some as the end of the endeavor. We hope and trust that is not the case," Formby said.

Protests and legal challenges stalled Hawaii Superferry's initial attempt to start service between Honolulu, Maui and Kaua'i in August 2007. Regular service between Honolulu and Maui resumed in December 2007 after Gov. Linda Lingle and lawmakers approved a law, known as Act 2, allowing the ferry to operate while environmental studies are conducted.

Rough winter seas and damage to the Alakai sustained during routine drydock meant the ferry was out of service for much of the first quarter of 2008. From April 2008, when the ferry had its first full month of operation, through the end of the year, Superferry carried 207,000 passengers and 60,000 vehicles, the company said.

Superferry shut down it operations in March, laying off 236 employees, after the court ruling that struck down Act 2.