Hawaii Superferry
 |
|
| Industry | Ferry |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| Defunct | 2009 |
| Headquarters | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States |
|
Area served
|
Oahu, Maui |
| Website | HawaiiSuperFerry.com |
Hawaii Superferry was a Hawaii-based transportation company that provided passenger and vehicle transportation between Honolulu Harbor on the island of Oʻahu and Kahului Harbor on Maui. Legal issues over environmental impact statements and protests from residents of Maui and Kauaʻi temporarily delayed the implementation of service, but service between Oʻahu and Maui began in December 2007. The company had hoped to return service to Nawiliwili Harbor on Kauaʻi and additionally planned to eventually provide service to Kawaihae Harbor on the Big Island.
Ferry operations were suspended in March, 2009 after the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that a state law allowing the Superferry to operate without a second complete environmental impact statement was unconstitutional. The company went bankrupt as a result of these actions preventing service in Hawaii. On July 2, 2009 a Delaware Bankruptcy Court granted the company's motion to abandon both the ships Alakai and Huakai, ending all possibilities that the company might return to Hawaii; the ships were bought by the US Maritime Administration in 2010. The United States Navy eventually purchased the craft for a total of $35M, a small fraction of their original $180M cost.
The vessel used by Hawaii Superferry was an aluminum-hulled catamaran with drive-on / drive-off vehicle capability or fast ferry service. It is designed and built in the United States by Austal USA, a division of the world's largest fast-ferry builder, Australia-based shipbuilder Austal. The vessel is powered by environmentally clean MTU Friedrichshafen engines running on ultra-low sulfur diesel using waterjet propulsion which the company claimed will minimize impact to marine mammals. It was capable of transporting up to 866 passengers and 282 subcompact cars.
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