Representatives from Hawaii Superferry, Inc., the multi-partner “Kama‘aina” entity which hopes to ferry people and cars between islands beginning in late 2006, were on Kaua‘i Thursday to pitch their dream. Complete with PowerPoint presentation and digital video, Tim Dick, HSF
Representatives from Hawaii Superferry, Inc., the multi-partner “Kama‘aina” entity which hopes to ferry people and cars between islands beginning in late 2006, were on Kaua‘i Thursday to pitch their dream.
Complete with PowerPoint presentation and digital video, Tim Dick, HSF chairman, and John Garibaldi, chief executive officer, wowed the crowd of 30 who gathered in the Mo‘ikeha Building for the regular meeting of the Governor’s Kaua‘i Advisory Committee.
Images of existing, similar Superferry operations steaming the Mediterranean between Spain and Morocco had the crowd oohing and ahhing, and detailed information on engine power and luxury cruiseship-like amenities had them squirming in their seats.
Bottom line, say representatives: The Superferry, which company representatives have nicknamed “H-4,” is well on its way to becoming reality.
“The first ship is already well under construction in the yard in Mobile, Alabama,” Dick told the crowd. HFS expects the first ship to be operating by late 2006 and the second by early 2008.
There seemed to be almost no cynicism in the room as Kauaians showered the representatives with questions and compliments on the details of Superferry travel.
How much will it cost? About half of what it costs for airtravel, only you can bring your cars, and surfboards and bicycles are free, they said.
How many lifeboats will there be? Enough, they said.
Can I bring my dog? Yes, and a cat, too. No other pets will be allowed, they said.
It was as if the Superferry were already a done deal, and the only thing remaining were mundane details.
But as Garibaldi and Dick admitted, the Superferry isn’t a done deal yet.
“We’ve raised $3.3 million in equity capitol,” Garibaldi said. They expect to raise another $55 million and already have some 50 companies and individuals investing in the project.
With a conservative cost estimate of $152 million for the two ships alone, financing for the Superferry is still a long way off, though Garibaldi insists that there is plenty of money waiting in the wings as the idea for the Superferry builds a head of emotional – and promotional – steam throughout the islands.
“I’d stake our professional careers on it,” Garibaldi said. “The next round of investors will pay for the big ticket items.”
Already on board the Superferry dream is Grove Farm owner and multi-billionaire Steve Case, who purchased half of Maui Land and Pineapple Company’s $1 million share in the project.
As for any possible stumbling blocks to the deal, Garibaldi, a former Hawaiian Airlines vice president, said that various meetings with the Public Utilities Commission, and the final price structure unveiling at the PUC, went smoothly.
“If there were any problems with the project, you would have seen some intervention during the PUC process,” he said. The company asked the PUC to expedite hearings and other steps in the process and have a decision by the end of this year.
The ferries leaving Oahu will depart from Pier 19 in Honolulu. Garibaldi said the company still needs a ramping area for cars, ticketing and passenger waiting areas and other necessities
Hawai‘i’s $1 billion-a-year interisland transportation market moves an average 22,000 passengers a day on interisland flights, 7 million tons of dry barge freight and 96,000 tons of air freight a year. But Superferry officials said that there is still an unmet demand for more service.
“I think it’s good, especially for non-business travelers, because fares for interisland air travel is so high,” said Millie Duarosan of First Class Travel in Kapa‘a. “We’ve had people coming in asking about it, but we don’t know what to say because it’s only rumor.” Even as speculation swirled at the meeting Thursday about existing transportation companies losing marketshare to the new Superferry service, the resounding feeling among the Kauaians was that Hawaii’s travelers stand to win big.
One-way fares are projected to be about $50 per passenger, with cars at $55 and with larger vehicles at $90. A one-way trip from Honolulu to Maui or Kaua‘i will take an estimated three hours; the Honolulu-Big Island run will take four hours, the company said.
“This will add a whole new dimension to Hawaii’s tourism industry,” Dick said.
Safety was a major concern at yesterday’s meeting as Kauaians wondered if the ferry could safely withstand Hawaii’s rugged seas.
“These vessels are certified for seas of 30 to 40 feet,” Dick said. Unlike SeaFlight, the hyrofoil system that ran between the Islands from 1975 to 1978, these vessels are truly seaworthy, Dick said.
Most of the Superferry presentation Thursday focused on the economic benefits: the stimulation of local and visitor travel, the speed of shipping produce and specialty items to the Honolulu market, and the thousands of indirect and direct jobs created along the way. Hawaii Superferry officials Mike Fitzgerald and John Strom said that ferries could carry goods for 2 cents per pound, compared to 13 cents per pound via barge.
But Young Bros. Tug & Barge President Glenn Hong strongly objects to that comparison and insists that barges are still the cheapest way to move products to market.
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there,” Hong said. “I don’t know where they got those comparison numbers and we’ve have not been able to verify them.
“I still believe that barges are by far the cheapest way to go,” he said.
As to whether the Superferry is a good idea, Hong flatly said: “Our official position is that we support anything that improves interisland transportation and infrastructure, as long as everyone is on a level playing field.” Ten years ago, the Superferry wouldn’t have worked, Dick said. But the confluence of technology and rising oil prices make the Superferry a doable dream.
“The ship technology has only been around for 15 years, and the Jones Act-compliant shipyard in Alabama only opened in 1999,” Dick said.
Each ship is a 345-feet, and four-story high, semi-SWATH (small waterplane area, twin hull) catamaran will be built in Alabama, making it compliant with the Jones Act, which requires that vessels sailing between U.S. ports be made in America.
The ships will carry up to 866 passengers and 282 vehicles. Vehicle decks are large enough to carry semi-trailers up to 48 feet long, smaller delivery trucks, pleasure boats on trailers and passenger cars.
To date, Australian-based Austal USA has built 25 similar vessels, almost all of which remain in service around the world, serving routes connecting Ireland with Britain and France across the Irish Sea and English Channel, Australia with Tasmania across the Bass Strait, Poland with Scandinavia across the Baltic Sea, and the trans-Mediterranean passage between Spain and Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar.
HSF’s Chief Operating Officer Terry White, a U.S. Coast Guard inspector and longtime maritime consultant, was not at Thursday’s presentation.
