I would not be surprised if Hawaii Superferry Inc. permanently throws in the towel after the Hawaii State Supreme Court ruled a law passed by the Hawaii State Legislature in late 2007 unconstitutional yesterday (March 16). The ruling against Hawaii Superferry came on behalf of environmental wacko groups such as the Sierra Club and Maui Tomorrow who filed the legal action against the Superferry.
Hawaii Superferry issued the following statement which in part read:
Obviously we are hugely disappointed with the Supreme Court's decision that Act 2 is unconstitutional. We have operated on a regular, reliable and responsible basis for the past 11 months. During this time over 250,000 people have booked travel on Alakai and it has provided new economic opportunities for Hawaii's businesses.Superferry will make one more trip to Maui and back to Oahu to take customer vehicles back to their home islands. The firm will also contact and refund customers for trips booked in the coming weeks.
After that the future of Hawaii Superferry is very cloudy. I am sure layoffs will follow and perhaps a permanent shutdown forthcoming. If I were an investor in the firm, I'd say enough already and either move the company to friendlier waters or sell off all of the assets. And then of course sue the state. That will keep the courts tied up for years.
I have absolutely no respect for any of the environmental wackos and opponents of the Hawaii Superferry. They have done a great disservice to the traveling public by taking away a viable, affordable and new travel option between the islands.
This once again sends out a message that Hawaii is a very hostile place to do business. If any firm wants to launch a private passenger sea transportation option, do it anywhere else except in Hawaii. The environmental wackos and their supporters want to crucify you.
I will miss the Hawaii Superferry and regret that I will not have another opportunity to travel on it again. It almost seems like a certain "bon voyage".....
ADDITIONAL LINKS
- Superferry Suspended, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 3-17-09
- Ferry shutdown to cause economic ripple effects, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 3-17-09
- Turbulent Times for Superferry, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 3-17-09
- Hawaii Court Forces Superferry to Cease Operations, Google News, 3-17-09
- Hawaii Superferry Will Shut Down Thursday, Pacific Business News, 3-17-09
- Hawaii Superferry Will be Ceasing Service...., The Kona Blog, 3-16-09
- Ruling Shuts Down Superferry, The Honolulu Advertiser, 3-17-09
- Sierra Club vs. Hawaii State DOT, Hawaii Supreme Court Ruling, PDF, 3-16-09
- Hawaii Superferry Ceases Operations, KPUA Radio, 3-17-09
- Superferry Loses in Court, HawaiiThreads.com
- "We're Done" - KGMB TV, 3-17-09
- Alaka'i's Encounter with Stormy Pacific Seas, HawaiiReporter, 3-17-09
- Is This the End for the Hawaii Superferry, HawaiiReporter, 3-17-09
- Hawaii Superferry Announces Layoffs, KITV 4, 3-17-09
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4 comments:
For a thorough explication of the "other" viewpoint, who Mel calls wackos, check out The Superferry Chronicles, available at bookstores throughout Hawaii and the continental U.S. It's a way more complex story than sound bytes and potshots.
I'm entitled to my own opinion on my own blog. While I will leave your comment here, do not use this blog to promote your book or any other commercial product. Subsequent posts by you Arnie regarding this commercial product or any other will be deleted.
The environmentalists have used the tyranny of the minority to ruin it for the majority of Hawaii's population who saw the Superferry for what it is. A great travel option for the public and business to use as an alternate transport.
I think it's very sad that the minority of people have won against common sense. The Superferry provided a good alternative to air travel. My wife has a lung condition that her Doctor's have advised her not to travel by air. Now, she has no alternative to travel to the neighbor islands.
Suggesting that whales may have been hit is typical of Arnie's attempt to smear the Superferry with falshoods. Where are the facts to back up this and other statements by him? I am from Kaua'i and I and all of my relatives and friends are for the Alaka'i. Many of their businesses have been adversely affected by activists with agenda of their own. I hope the activists from the mainland would go back to their own state and foment whatever trouble they want to there.
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