By Chad Blair
The Hawaii Superferry will resume service between Honolulu and Kauai on Sept. 26.
The announcement that the ferry will resume service was made at a news conference at the State Capitol by Gov. Linda Lingle. She said the decision was made by a “unified command” representing state, federal and local government and law enforcement officials.
“We respect everyone’s right to voice their opinion, but we will not allow a small group of protestors to act out in a lawless manner to obstruct the operations of a legitimate business, intimidate the people who wish to use its services or put people’s lives at risk,” Lingle said.
Attorney General Mark Bennett said that any protester who violates a Coast Guard security zone at Nawiliwili Harbor, endangers public safety, or involves children when breaking the law will be arrested and prosecuted.
At the request of state officials, the Superferry is expected to shift its visit to Nawiliwili to the daytime rather than its scheduled evening arrival and departure.
The Hawaii Superferry was turned away from Nawiliwili Harbor in late August when protests on land and in the water prohibited it from docking.
Environmental and other activist groups say the Superferry will increase Neighbor Island traffic, transport invasive species and threaten whales.
A Maui judge this week is holding hearings to decide whether to issue an injunction banning the ferry service from Maui until an environmental assessment is completed. The assessment was ordered by the Hawaii Supreme Court and the Maui service is presently subject to a temporary restraining order.
Meanwhile, a Kauai judge has scheduled a hearing on Sept. 17 to decide whether Superferry service should be permanently halted there as well.
Lingle again defended her administration’s decision to not require an environmental assessment for the Superferry. She urged Maui Circuit Court Judge Joseph Cardoza to weigh the protesters’ concerns with the harm done to the Superferry, which she says will go out of business if it is not allowed to resume service to Maui while the study is conducted.
Lingle will travel to Kauai later this month to hold a public meeting on the Superferry controversy. She said the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural resources is investigating reports that Superferry passengers traveling from Oahu to Maui loaded trucks with rocks from Maui streams and planned to haul them back to Oahu, presumably to sell.
