Hawaii Superferry, the company that hopes to shuttle people and cars between islands via two massive catamaran ferryboats, says it’s close to finalizing deals with some large investors. Superferry Chief Executive Officer John Garibaldi told a Honolulu television station Tuesday
Hawaii Superferry, the company that hopes to shuttle people and cars between islands via two massive catamaran ferryboats, says it’s close to finalizing deals with some large investors.
Superferry Chief Executive Officer John Garibaldi told a Honolulu television station Tuesday that the company was “very near” to finalizing arrangements, but Garibaldi has not yet revealed the names of the investors.
The announcement is an indication that the Public Utilities Commission could be close to a positive decision on the project.
The company had been awaiting PUC approval. Company executives have admitted that funding depends on the firm winning a state permit to operate by the end of December.
The state has already built an inter-island passenger terminal for the company at Pier 19 at Honolulu Harbor. But the Superferry had raised just $3.3 million in equity – not nearly enough to cover the $75 million price tag for the first of two ferries being built in Mobile, Ala. The initial financing is expected to total $55 million, and will be used to pay for initial operational costs and 20 percent of the $75 million price tag on the first of two ferries. Ultimately, the company will spend $200 million on the project.
Hawaii Superferry already has some key local investors including entrepreneur Tim Dick, who is spearheading the project, and former AOL chief executive Steve Case, who has invested $1 million in the enterprise through two companies he controls, Maui Land & Pineapple Co. and Grove Farm Co. of Kaua‘i.
The PUC held meetings throughout the island and on Kaua‘i early this month where at least 50 people weighed in on the project. Many expressed concerns that the Superferry, while admittedly a cheaper form of transportation than airplanes, could bring problems such as invasive species, Oahu’s homeless and force a change in Kaua‘i’s rural lifestyle.
Other concerns around the state included the lack of terminal space at neighbor island ports, traffic snarls, and Young Brothers, largest provider of inter-island barge service, suggested that the $55 per person one way charge might be too cheap to cover costs. Still, small businesses see benefit in being able to drive their products directly to Oahu, where 72 percent of Hawai‘i’s population lives.
Phil Hayworth, Business Editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) and mailto:phayworth@pulitzer.net
