NAWILIWILI — Over a 100 people gathered at the Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor Saturday afternoon to get to be a part of the official blessing ceremony of the Young Brothers new tugboat, the “Kapena George Panui.”
Joseph Boivin, president of Young Brothers, was on hand to say a few words prior to the blessing and thank the community for its support.
“This island represents 22 percent of all the revenue that Young Brothers makes,” Boivin said, speaking to the crowd prior to the blessing of the new tugboat.
“Approximately 21 percent of all the cargo that we ship is to this island. That’s pretty substantial.”
Boivin added that during Hurricane Iniki, Young Brothers and their tugboats played a key role in recovery efforts.
“I know back in Hurricane Iniki, the company was instrumental in providing relief services for months after that storm,” Boivin said.
“I was told earlier today that George Jr. (Panui) was involved with well over 100 of those relief services to Kauai island, to bring food and generators, fuel and clothing and the other things that islands need after a storm that is so ravaging. It’s just another way that the Panui family was involved with the Hawaiian islands.”
Several members of the Panui family, whom the new tug is named for, were here to take part in the blessing and honoring of the family for their ancestors and their service.
The 123-foot tug “Kapena George Panui” will be used for interisland towing and is powered by a two, General Electric 8L250 MDC MR engines.
The vessel has crew accommodations for 10 persons and can tow a maximum of 176,000 pounds. The cost of the vessel was $20 million, and it has a life expectancy of 30 years.
“These are tugboats that we are bringing into the company for the first time in well over 20 years,” Boivin said.
“We need six tugboats in our fleet to meet the needs of the Hawaiian islands every day. So the fact that we are bringing in four new boats means that we have the sailing capacity to meet the pulling power to serve the islands for the next 30 years.
“What that means is we can deliver cargo on time. We can deliver barges to the islands, and it’s really just a part of Hawaii’s infrastructure system.”
Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami offered a few words about the significance of the new addition.
“I want people to really grasp the gravity of this momentous occasion,” Kawakami said. “For the next 25 to 30 years this family’s name (the Panui) is going to hit every island in the Hawaiian chain. And whether it is bringing food to feed families, whether it’s to bring construction material to get families into homes, or bringing fuels so we can drive our vehicles or keep our lights on, every single thing that we are thankful for, that we are blessed to be with is interwoven into this company called the Young Brothers, and this name, the Panui legacy, will have its name not only know on Kauai but across the state.”
Gary Panui, grandson of George Panui, toured the new vessel and marveled at how different it is compared to the ships he sailed on with his grandfather as a young boy.
“They are nowhere close to what I can imagine to what it is now,” Panui said of the old vessels compared to the new one that bears his family’s name.
“To be this state-of-the-art, to have this technology, it just blows my mind,” he said with a smile.
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Editor’s note: This article has been changed to correct the spelling of Joseph Boivin, president of Young Brothers.
