New Hawaii ferry could endanger whales, court told

WAILUKU, Hawaii — Hawaii's humpback whales would be endangered by the speed at which the new Hawaii Superferry plans to operate, a marine biologist warned..

Hannah Bernard testified at a Circuit Court hearing Monday to determine whether the inter-island ferry will be allowed to operate between Honolulu and Maui while an environmental assessment is being conducted. The new ferry started service in late August but suspended its sailings from Honolulu to Maui and Kauai because of court rulings and citizen protests.

The 350-foot Alakai ferry can travel at 35 knots, or 40 mph, much too fast as far as Bernard is concerned.

"The speed that the Superferry should operate to maximize the safety of humpback whales as well as its passengers should be 10 knots (11 mph) or less. That's the magic number," she said.

Deputy Attorney General Bill Wynhoff, who represented the state Department of Transportation, sided with the Superferry's desire to resume service as soon as possible.

"I think that, as far as I know, virtually every ship in Hawaiian waters is going to go more than 10 knots," he said.

Wynhoff said the ferry would go fast in "areas in which there are typically not whales at all."

But Bernard said the whales are found throughout the islands.

"They don't just go to one spot," she said. "They sort of come all around the islands... There's no fences out there. There's no barricades."

Superferry officials have said lookouts would watch for whales, and that the vessel would alter its routes and slow down during peak whale season.

The hearing before Judge Joseph Cardoza was to resume today. He issued a temporary retraining order Aug. 27, preventing the ferry from using Maui's Kahului Harbor. His ruling came after the state Supreme Court said an environmental review should have been conducted. The state Department of Transportation has supported the Hawaii Superferry, and pointed out that no environmental assessment was required for cruise ships to operate between the islands.

Aug. 27 was also the day ferry opponents on Kauai prevented the vessel from docking at Nawiliwili Harbor by taking to the water on surfboards, kayaks and canoes to form a human barricade.

"I think the 27th will look like a picnic compared to the turnout if SF (Superferry) doesn't respect the intent of the Supreme Court decision and delay operations," Rich Hoeppner of People for the Preservation of Kauai told Terry O'Halloran, director for business development for the Superferry, in an e-mail dated Sunday.

Hoeppner's group and the environmental group 1,000 Friends of Kauai were unsuccessful in getting a temporary restraining order issued to prevent the ferry from using Nawiliwili Harbor pending an environmental assessment. But Circuit Judge Randal Valenciano of Kauai will consider whether to issue a permanent restraining order there against the ferry service at a hearing next Monday.

Hawaii Superferry voluntarily suspended its Honolulu-Kauai service Aug. 28. The company has not said when it plans to resume service.

Kristin Jackson of the Seattle Times Travel staff contributed to this report.