Maui County News

The 65-foot commercial passenger vessel Spirit of Kona ran aground on the island of Hawaii, Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. Coast Guard Sector Honolulu watchstanders received notification Sunday morning that the vessel ran aground on the rocks near the Kailua-Kona Lighthouse. The vessel reportedly broke free of its mooring in Kailua Bay as Tropical Storm Darby passed over the region early Sunday. No one was aboard the vessel at the time of the incident. The vessel reportedly has a maximum pollution potential of 600 gallons of diesel fuel aboard…

The Coast Guard Captain of the Port continues to closely monitor the movement of Hurricane Ignacio and based on the storms current trajectory to the northwest it does not appear that the closure of commercial ports in the Hawaiian Islands will be necessary. As a precaution, the COTP has moved the ports of Hilo and Kawaihae on the Big Island and the ports of Kaunakakai and Kahului in Maui County to Condition X-Ray (III): The READINESS condition in which winds above 34 knots (39 mph) are expected within 48 hours. The Port Conditions of Kalaeloa and Honolulu on Oahu are Whiskey (IV): The ALERT condition in which winds above 34 knots (39 mph) are expected within 72 hours. There is no upgraded Port Condition set for Kauai at this time.

The US Coast Guard Captain of the Port, Hawaii Pacific, has closed ports for Big Island, Maui County to include the islands of Molokai and Lanai, and Oahu to all traffic. According to a News Release issued, all cargo operations at these ports were to be secured by 6pm yesterday. Vessels transiting within the vicinity of the Hawaiian Island harbours are urged to seek sheltered waters until storm conditions subside and the Captain of the Port has deemed the ports safe to reopen. Once the storm has passed and the threat of severe weather has subsided, the Coast Guard, Army Corp of Engineers and State of Hawaii will jointly conduct surveys of channel blockage and prioritize steps to resume essential, then normal, vessel traffic.

Hawaii Superferry signed a historic agreement with Austal USA that proposes bringing the world’s newest passenger-vehicle catamarans to Hawaiian waters for the development of a commercial high-speed interisland ferry service in Hawaii. Hawaii Superferry plans to use Austal USA-built, high-speed, roll-on/roll-off vessels to create “Hawaii’s Interisland Highway,” with state-of-the-art Austal USA catamarans carrying passengers, vehicles and freight between Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island, beginning in 2006. Under the agreement, Hawaii Superferry plans to purchase two 340-foot catamaran ferry vessels from Mobile, AL-based Austal USA for delivery during 2006-2008 under an exclusive, strategic relationship.

With less than a year until its first trip between islands, Hawaii Superferry has moved operations into high gear. According to the Honolulu Advertisers, while ferry officials were making preparations to move into their new 10,000-sq. ft. office space at Restaurant Row and start hiring what will eventually be about 300 employees, critics were equally busy making plans to delay the July 1, 2007, startup date of ferry operations. Maui County Council members on July 21 debated whether the county should join a civil lawsuit that could effectively block ferry operations until a lengthy environmental review of harbor plans is conducted. Despite the lawsuit and other potential obstacles…