Hawaii Superferry confronts winter of discontent on seas

— -- When high surf and rudder cracks forced the Hawaii Superferry to scuttle trips between Oahu and Maui for the fifth day in a row this week, it was the latest wave in what has been a sea of troubles for the high-speed catamaran.

With a capacity of 866 passengers and more than 200 cars and trucks, the $85 million, U.S.-built Alakai — Hawaiian for "ocean path" — was designed as a modern reincarnation of the double-hulled Polynesian canoes that once plied the Hawaiian chain. Intended to zip residents, tourists and local business owners and their wares on daily crossings from Honolulu to Maui and Kauai (a second vessel is planned for Big Island service in 2009), the Alakai was touted as a scenic, fuel-efficient alternative to inter-island flights.

But the Alakai faced protesters and legal challenges long before it arrived in Hawaii last summer. Environmentalists, worried about the effect on migrating humpback whales and the potential for transporting invasive species, argued that the ferry's owners needed to file an environmental impact statement before launching service. Residents on Maui and Kauai, already anxious about a surge in tourist arrivals and new development, voiced concerns about increased traffic congestion and crowding of island parks and beaches.

After several months of on-again, off-again drama — including a blockade of Kauai's Nawiliwili harbor by opponents on surfboards and outrigger canoes and intervention by the Hawaiian Legislature and governor to keep the ferry going while it completes an environmental review — the Alakai started offering one daily round trip between Honolulu and Kahului, Maui, in mid-December. Kauai service was suspended indefinitely, and a planned second daily trip to Maui was postponed when Maui's mayor complained that local officials weren't consulted.

Despite computer-controlled stabilizers and other features designed to smooth the 349-foot-long Alakai's ride, rough winter seas have forced the Superferry to cancel trips 11 days in less than two months. That's far more than the 2% cancellation rate officials had planned, and roiling conditions have helped earn the vessel a nickname: "the barf barge."

Meanwhile, the Alakai has attracted an average of 162 passengers a trip vs. its planned ridership of 410. It has tried to boost sales by dropping a fuel surcharge and extending a promotional rate of $39 a passenger plus tax, one way. By contrast, a half-hour flight between Honolulu and Kahului costs $55, one way.

Recent Alakai passenger Janet Anderson, who was visiting last month from Forest Grove, Ore., was thrilled with her three-hour journey from Maui to Honolulu, from the shipboard puu puus (appetizers) and cushy leather sofas to mesmerizing views of Molokai's serrated coastal cliffs and friendly crewmembers who treated her "like royalty."

But she was less enamored when she turned on the local news in her Waikiki hotel room, getting ready for her 6:30 a.m. return trip to Maui, and learned the Superferry was grounded by high seas.

"This was not a big inconvenience because we hadn't checked out of the hotel," says Anderson, who wound up flying back to Maui later that day. "I wish them luck getting the bugs out. … These kinds of things happen, but it would be important to know you could stick with your plans."

Adds First Hawaiian Bank consultant Leroy Laney, "It's unfortunate that ridership is not living up to expectations and that (the Superferry) has been hit with cancellations." He says the new service is a welcome addition to the state's financially troubled interisland airlines, "but it doesn't auger very well for the future."

Superferry fares between Honolulu and Maui's Kahului Harbor are $39 a passenger and $55 for cars, plus tax, for tickets purchased through March 31 for travel through June 5. Information: 877-443-3779 or hawaiisuperferry.com.