THE GARDEN ISLAND Young Brothers’ request to the state Public Utilities Commission to end “less-than-container load” service at Kahului Harbor in Maui to make way for the Hawaii Superferry could affect Nawiliwili Harbor one day, the president of the interisland
THE GARDEN ISLAND
Young Brothers’ request to the state Public Utilities Commission to end “less-than-container load” service at Kahului Harbor in Maui to make way for the Hawaii Superferry could affect Nawiliwili Harbor one day, the president of the interisland shipping service said.
With the loss of that service, small businesses and residents won’t be able to drive to the Maui harbor to pick up their goods, and will have to rely on the services of freight consolidators, driving up shipping costs, Young Brothers president Glenn Hong said.
“I would say the impact is marginal to Kaua‘i right now, but at some point what is happening to Maui will probably occur on Kauai,” He said. “But it gives us more time to think and plan and look for solutions.”
Kaua‘i residents would only be affected by the termination of the services at Kahului if they ship loose items to Maui.
Kaua‘i Sen. Gary Hooser has said he wants to keep shipping costs down for residents and will be monitoring the situation.
Because Superferry operations will eat up 23 percent of Young Brothers’ storage space at Kahului Harbor, Young Brothers has asked the PUC to grant its request to end the smaller load service in January.
Freight consolidators would pick up the containers, bring them to off-site storage areas located away from the harbor and distribute the cargo from there.
The freight consolidators would tack on additional shipping costs to small businesses and people who pick up goods from them. The additional shipping costs would probably be high initially, but competition would probably drive down the cost over time.
The space problems Young Brothers faces at Kahului Harbor, Honolulu Harbor and on the Big Island don’t apply at Nawiliwili, because the Kaua‘i harbor currently has adequate storage space. However, the future may hold the same congestion here that the rest of the state faces now.
While diminishing space acutely affects the Maui port, “the rest of the state harbors face severe congestion in our facilities today,” as well, Hong said in an e-mail.
The company facilities in Honolulu are “well beyond capacity, and its operations will need to change within a couple of years,” Hong said. “Without this change, YB will not be able to manage the growth of cargo in the future,” Hong said.
• Lester Chang, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@kauaipubco.com.
