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It might be very good for the state government work on a ferry system going between Big Island, Kauai, Maui, and Oahu. Establish it like the Alaska south east ferry system.
When I was several times in Alaska. I thoroughly enjoyed the South East Ferry System. Food service onboard and nice sit down lounges with the view of the water way's. All it takes is ingenuity to make it success in the Hawaii Islands. More jobs can be created and each of the ferry can be built at the military base inside the state of Hawaii. Why pay for jet airliner service all the time. More people can relocate from one island to the next very easy. Oh year round service too.
Cost and jobs weren't the issue - environmentalists blocked the ferry - we had the ship - it was running - it was popular - it was fast - wasn't expensive.
When I was several times in Alaska. I thoroughly enjoyed the South East Ferry System. Food service onboard and nice sit down lounges with the view of the water way's. All it takes is ingenuity to make it success in the Hawaii Islands. More jobs can be created and each of the ferry can be built at the military base inside the state of Hawaii. Why pay for jet airliner service all the time. More people can relocate from one island to the next very easy. Oh year round service too.
What's that saying by Santayana? Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it?
People also mention the Washington State Ferry System in connection with Hawai'i's transportation shortcomings, but there are several major differences. One is that the waters of Puget Sound are much calmer than the open sea between the Hawaiian Islands, and the winter crossings in Hawai'i in particular can be quite rough. Passengers often became violently ill, which doesn't do wonders for repeat business.
Another is that to make the crossings quickly enough to be practical in the jet age, the ship Alakai was operated at a much higher speed than typical ferries are, which not only made it a hazard to whales and other wildlife, but also resulted in strike damage to the rudder system within the first year.
And there were big issues raised by the protesters... oh, yes, the Superferry was heavily protested... that invasive species would be spread from island to island, and that fragile marine ecosystems would be permanently damaged. But one of the underlying fears was not as high-minded as the others... "More people can relocate from one island to the next very easy," was actually seen by many as a negative factor. Too many cars on Kauai'i, some felt, would destroy their way of life and change the island forever. And homeless people being able to travel from island to island easily and at low cost??
The ships Alakai and Huakai were built on the East Coast of the US, by an Australian shipbuilder which specializes in building ferries. It has been said that the design was 70% based on a military design for the US Navy for rapid deployment of troops and vehicles. Only the Alakai, at a cost of $88 million, was completed and saw service before the Hawai'i Superferry company declared bankruptcy. The US Maritime Administration acquired them both for a reported $25 mil each, put them into service for Haiti disaster relief efforts in 2010, after which the US Navy acquired them for a reported $33 mil for the pair.
Since renamed the USNS Puerto Rico (Alakai) and the USNS Guam (Huakai), the latter has just been deployed to Okinawa, to replace a chartered ship the Navy was using to move troops and vehicles around the region, while the former has been moved from the Austal shipyard in Mobile, Alabama up to a dock at Philadelphia ahead of the hurricane season, while the Navy figures out what to do with it.
None of it matters, OP, except that the environmentalists fought it to a standstill. The courts decided no-can-do. That means it is not going to happen.
The approach of the state in trying to bring about the Superferry without it doing a comprehensive environment impact statement first, doomed the project. It is not the environmentalists' fault, it is the state's fault for not doing their prep work adequately. Good strategy by the environmentalists, bad planning by the state. The fact that those opposed to the Superferry were able to use the state's lack of prep against the project, is the state's fault.
Personally, I supported the Superferry. But environmental issues should have been thoroughly researched beforehand. If environmental problems had been identified, perhaps they could have been adequately addressed so that the Superferry could have maneuvered safely in Hawaiian waters, and other concerns brought to solution.
None of it matters, OP, except that the environmentalists fought it to a standstill. The courts decided no-can-do. That means it is not going to happen.
That doesn't mean it can't happen, only that the previous effort failed, in large part because they tried to shortcut the environmental impact report process and ram the thing through. That doesn't mean that another approach couldn't work. Not that I think it is likely, but the courts didn't slam the door on any and all efforts, just on this particular one.
Personally I think a bigger obstacle is that it doesn't seem, now that the dust has settled, that it ever could have become a profitable venture. Hindsight is always 20/20 but analysts have pointed out that a couple of the key assumptions seem flawed, and that the numbers don't really add up.
In any case, the car rental companies are happy...
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