The Superferry’s Last Sail

Travel Blog  •  Pam Mandel  •  03.20.09 | 10:37 AM ET

Photo by James Willamore via Flickr (Creative Commons)

From day one, Hawaii’s Superferry was fraught with problems. It’s all over now. On March 19, the Superferry made its final run between Oahu and Maui.

From a logistics point of view, the ferry made travel between Oahu and Maui seem a lot easier. Drive on, drive off, with whale-watching thrown in for the price of the crossing, in season. Tourism boosters loved it, as did parents and schools—it made getting your baseball team to that game on Maui a snap, and you could bring your own bus or squeeze the whole swim team into the minivan.

But Hawaiian traditionalists objected to the Superferry because it made it too easy to plunder, like a pirate in a pickup truck, island resources. Environmentalists worried about the whales. And quality-of-life types bemoaned the traffic, suggesting that the cars lined up on either end would cause not only pollution, but delays and crowds.

The Superferry ran, and then it didn’t, and then it ran, and then it didn’t. If you held a ticket, you had to check the website the day of your sailing and, even then, there was no guarantee that you wouldn’t be turned back by protesters. The case to block the Superferry went all the way to the Hawaii Supreme Court. The issue? The Superferry had been allowed to operate before the environmental impact research was complete.

The Hawaii Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a law allowing the Superferry to operate while conducting an environmental impact statement was unconstitutional.—MSNBC

It’s back to interisland flights for travelers.You can’t take your car, but you’re less likely to get seasick. And yeah, you can get a refund for that Superferry ticket.

Tags: Eco Travel, Hawaii Superferry, Islands, North America, United States, Hawaii, Honolulu, Maui, Shrinking Planet

Pam Mandel is a freelance writer and photographer from Seattle, Washington. Her work has appeared in a variety of print, radio, and web publications and she's contributed to two guidebooks, one on British Columbia and one on Hawaii. She plays the ukulele, has an internal beacon that is surprisingly capable of locating the best baked goods in town, almost any town, and speaks German with a Styrian accent. Learn more on her personal blog at Nerd's Eye View.


3 Comments for The Superferry’s Last Sail

malia 03.21.09 | 10:43 PM ET

You know, I honestly am the last person that should be riding on the Superferry. I get seasick. Not just a little seasick, but green-in-the-face, wanna-barf-but-can’t, spend-the-whole-3-hours-in-misery seasick. But I was a huge fan of the Superferry. In fact, I’ve taken it twice to move between Maui (my home) and Oahu (work) and planned to move back home to Maui next month using the Superferry to pack up my car with my things and take them back over. You can’t do that on a plane. So now my options are to use Matson to ship my car, sell most of my stuff, and try to stay under 2 bags to fly on Hawaiian. I can’t say how disappointed I am that the ferry will not be sailing. In fact, it’s made me rethink my move home.

Beyond just feeling sorry for myself - the hundreds of employees who are now jobless because of this situation have my sympathy as well. I have nothing but praise for the staff of the Superferry who, from my observation, seemed to spend a good 80% of their work time passing out ginger ale, ginger pills, and seasickness bags to passengers. My car battery died on one of my trips over to Oahu and the staff were nice enough to jumpstart my car and check in with me as soon as we docked to make sure that I’d have no trouble driving off and straight to Sears to get a new one. The staff did an amazing job, and I hope that all of them are able to find new employment soon.

The legal battles that have been ongoing since the beginning of the Superferry’s run are unfortunate. The court had originally ruled that an EIS was not necessary, which was why one was not completed prior to their first voyage. The cruise ships don’t have them, and Matson doesn’t need one. But the environmentalists sued and it started this big war that ended up in our loss of a highly valuable option for neighbor island residents to travel between the islands.

I, for one, was not one of those “pirates in a pickup truck” plundering island resources. I am a born and raised Maui girl who often finds it necessary to travel to Oahu to find work. Now for my family and I, the only option to get between the islands is to fly once again. I won’t miss the seasickness, but I will miss the friendly staff, and the ability to move back and forth with ease. I personally know a few businesses who are also hurt with this closure - you don’t see Alii Kula Lavender at the KCC farmers market anymore! =( And a couple of my friends who had plans to move back to Maui as well have also had to reconsider their options.

So sad. I hope that some compromise can be worked out before the Superferry goes bankrupt.

pam 03.22.09 | 10:23 AM ET

Malia, I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to put such a personal perspective on the Superferry story.

And hey, I’m with you on the green around the gills thing. I get seasick just looking at boats. It’s kind of dumb that I love the islands so much

J.J. Lasne 03.22.09 | 8:25 PM ET

The eco-fascists and other nutcases finally killed that ferry service! Amazing! There is ferry service in the Atlantic Provinces, there is ferry service in Washington State, there is ferry service in British Columbia, there is ferry service in Alaska (a must!), there is ferry service in the San Francisco Bay, there is ferry service in French Polynesia and yet, the seven Hawaiian Airlines have no ferry service and the Hawaiian population has to endure the near monopoly of Hawaiian Airlines and Matson Navigation for inter-island transportation. Now, I know why the middle class is moving out of Hawaii to California, Oregon and Nevada. Hawaii is becoming a retirement community for very rich mainlanders.

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