Island Breath: Superferry News of the Day 9/11

www.islandbreath.org

SUBJECT: SUPERFERRY STORY SEPTEMBER 11TH

SOURCE: JUAN WILSON juanwilson@mac.com

POSTED: 11 SEPTMEBER 2007 - 7:00am HST

image above: Hana Bernard, marine biologist who testified against Superferry at Maui hearing 9/10

Hawaii Superferry News of September 11th

Never Conquered
by Kyle Kajihiro on 11 September 2007 in The Haleakala Times

Kauai shows courage in the face of political conspiracy I applaud the people of Kaua'i whose courageous nonviolent resistance temporarily halted the Hawaii Superferry. Like its invasive cousins, the Stryker Brigade and the UARC, the Superferry is a manifestation of the dangerous military industrial complex that
President Eisenhower gravely warned against.

Let's be clear about the persons and interests that are behind the Hawaii Superferry.

The Board of Directors of the Hawaii Superferry reads like a roster of revolving door ex-military officials. Most notably, the Chair of the Superferry is John F. Lehman, former Secretary of the Navy and founder of the investment firm JF Lehman, a company that specializes in investing in military industries with a controlling interest in the Superferry.

Lehman is associated with the Heritage Foundation, the notorious Right Wing think tank, whose intellectual and political descendants include the anti-Hawaiian Grassroots Institute, Pacific Legal Foundation and Aloha for All. He is also associated with the Project for a New American Century, the folks that cooked up the illegal and catastrophic occupation of Iraq and a blueprint for U.S. Empire (well, they euphemistically called it "Pax Americana").

Lehman proudly announced that the Hawaii Superferry would partner with the military as a "Westpac Express" to shuttle Strykers and other military personnel and equipment between islands and beyond.

The first Westpac Express was a contract between the U.S. military and the Austal Corporation, makers of the Superferry, to move U.S. military personnel and equipment around Australia and Southeast Asia.

According to testimony from Sean Connaughton, Maritime Administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation before the House Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces of the Armed Services Committee (March 15, 2007), U.S. taxpayers subsidized $140 million of the $180 million price tag for two Superferries through Title XI loan guarantees.z

While there is plenty of blame to go around for the Superferry fiasco, the real source of the problem may lie in the mysterious condition of this loan guarantee that there be no environmental impact statement. Why would the federal government use such coercion of the purse to prevent the state from following its own laws, especially under a program that the Bush administration does not
believe in?

Sean Connaughton, Administrator of MARAD testified before Congress (March 15, 2007) that the agency had not requested Title XI loan guarantees since 2001 because it viewed the program as a corporate subsidy.

However through Congressional appropriations (i.e. earmarks) MARAD funded a number of loan guarantees, the most recent of which was the Superferry.

So let's follow the money. How were the funds for the Superferry loan guarantee appropriated? And what strings were attached to the money in that legislation? What promises or assurances were made to ease its passage?

Could Connaughton's surprisingly alarmist declaration last week in the Maui court that "the military readiness of the Nation could be diminished if the ALAKAI is precluded from sustaining normal commercial operations" be a clue to the deals made to clinch the Superferry?

Connaughton said that "Although the Administration has not requested funding for new loan guarantees since 2001, Congress has periodically appropriated money for this purpose." He seemed to suggest that the Superferry was another pork barrel earmark project.

Like the Strykers and the UARC, the Superferry is a conspiracy by politicians, the military and corporations to impose their profit and military driven agendas on Hawai'i over the opposition of affected communities and regardless of the ultimate costs, consequences and impacts.

Kauai's powerful assertion of their right to protect their island from invasive and destructive forces is a gift to Hawai'i and demonstrates why Kaua'i was never conquered.

Keep on Paddling
by Andy Parx on 9 September 2007

Anyone who has read the Honolulu newspapers’ letters columns- and even more so the on-line “comments”- has seen many dozens of O`ahu denizens vent their furious, hate-tinged, vindictive frustrations with Kaua`i and what our people are saying about the Superferry.

No one can genuinely equate a virtual “I-H4” freeway to Lihu`e with barges, planes, or even cruise ships. That’s not an honest argument.

We all know why Honolulu habitants want the Superferry- so they can go holoholo Maui, Kauai and the Big Island,. loadin’ up “da beeeg truck” just the way all of us do when we go fishing, gathering, hunting and camping in Hawai`i.

That’s the ferry’s customer base- hundreds of big-wheel behemoths full of families and friends- unloading every day into 5 p.m. Lihu`e traffic, all looking for a camp site.

If the ferry comes, Kauaiians may never get a camping permit again. It’s hard enough now. The few spots left to just go picnic- permit required or not- will be full of oodles of ‘ohana, all spread out with all their “stuffs” like we all do.

That happens increasingly often now when we “go cruise” the other side or some spot we know- or used to know. Someone’s often there already, already. Oh, well- aloha

But the ferry adds 200 “competitors” the first day, 400 by day two, 600 day three...

Kaua`i is looking at a thousand co-searchers in our increasingly unsuccessful quest for an encampment for us and tutu-them.- every day... forever.

And no one’s gonna bring over their little Toyota to visit Auntie- let’s get that clear right now. If you’re really going to visit tutu-them in Haiku, cousin-guys are going to come get you at the airport like they always do. And if not you rent a car for the weekend- it’s a lot cheaper than the ferry rates.

Kaua`i understands- we’d also like to load up the monster 4x4 and “go Maui” for a week. But we also know our beaches, roads, forests, four-wheel roads and cultural assets, as well as our sociologic stability has undergone a massive yet steady, drip-drip transition due to traditional neglect by Kauai’s corruption-riddled county government and can’t possibly cope with much less sustain the oncoming onslaught the ferry would bring

Traffic, especially in Kapa`a and sometimes Lihu`e, is as bad or worse than any in Hawai`i.. Our traditional accesses has been restricted to the point where we can’t go to our beaches much less our mountains. Our infrastructure is severely insufficient now to sustain us. On an island the same size as O`ahu our facilities exist on a small fraction of the dollars.

Who’s going to pay for the first time 4x4 weekend warrior when he gouges an impassible pit in the road to Polihale on a wet day? Who’s gonna fix the road to Kawaikoi and Sugi Grove in Koke`e when he – and his family and 10 of his closest neighbors and their families- messes up that one section that always need fixing... That’s six months when no one can go until we have the money to fix it.

What we fear most is not someone from O`ahu, Maui, Peoria or for that matter Timbuktu. Don’t take it personally, Kimo.

But 1000 trucks at a time? - packed like the Beverly Hillbillies truck loaded up with the gas grills, tables, chairs, pavilion tents, generators and everything in the kitchen including the sink?

Where are they going to go?.

It’s impossible to say that the impact is like anything else that exists now- not a barge, not a cruise ship, not an airplane. That is at best an ignorant, at worst disingenuous, argument.

It’s actually more than most could even imagine.

That is why people are blocking the harbor and the car off-ramp- and why they fought back when drivers who chose to try to run them over, according to almost all eye-witnesses.
Of the many dozens of published venomous, insulting, hatred-filled, sometimes indecent diatribes against Kauaiians the most intriguing are those that say Kauaiians have no aloha.

Some, almost painfully, describe their concept of aloha as the bumper-sticker kind- the Hawai`i Tourism Authority kind: smile-for-the-tourist, the-customer-is-always-right, thank-you-for-letting-us-clean-your-toilets-for-starvation-wages... that kind of aloha.

But the golden rule and turn the other cheek concepts only apply if the main component of aloha is observed.

Respect.

When a stranger comes upon a mango tree in someone’s yard, if he walks up to the door and asks for the bird-pecked, wormy ones on the ground the Kanaka family will probably go out with the pickers and give the 10 best mangos on the tree ask him in for pupus... heck, they may even ask him in for dinner and, if things go well, let him marry their daughter.

And that’s Aloha.

But if that same malahini goes into the yard without asking and picks up that same rotten mango, Mr. Kanaka will probably come out with a shotgun and chase ‘um down the street. At the very least Mrs. Kanaka will curse and swat him with a broom stick.

And that’s also aloha, every bit as much as the first scenario.

The Superferry never asked.

And the State didn’t even ask. Even when Kaua`i, Maui and Hawai`i Counties asked them to ask- after they didn’t ask- they still didn’t ask. Then they still refused to ask and even made a big deal about how they didn’t need to ask.

And guess what? The people who took the ferry here that day knew that and they ignored it.

That’s what an environmental study is all about. It’s the place everyone’s questions and concerns are asked and answered. It may not be ho`oponopono but it’s a good start.

The Superferry passengers who came to Kaua`i didn’t care that all of our county councils asked to be asked- with an environmental study. They didn’t give a hoot that 6000 people sent representatives to see the governor with a petition asking to be asked. And they knew she had refused meet with them or even accept the petition.

That’s why people jumped in the harbor and will do so again and lay their lives on the line if the Superferry comes back.

And that is real aloha.

Some ferry opponents over here say they actually hope the ferry comes because once those the few who welcome it see us overrun overnight there won’t be a single person on Kaua`i who doesn’t hope it sinks.

Many of us read the comments in the papers from O`ahu as essentially saying “if rape is inevitable, sit back and enjoy it.” But just because Kaua`i is attractive doesn’t mean we’re “asking for it”.

Televised Court Hearing on Mauai on Akau TV
by Juan Wilson on 11 September 2007
juanwilson@mac.com

Maui public access television station Akaku broadcast yestersday's hearing from the Wailuku courtroom. Check tomorrow for further broadcasting. You can see today's proceeding at:

http://www.akaku.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=60&Itemid=47

Although there were some breaks in the service, the streaming video was fascinating to watch. Only about sixty people used the online servive yesterday.

SOURCE: DICK MAYER dickmayer@earthlink.net

Hawaii ferry's whale-avoidance policy falls short
by Christie Wilson on 11 September 2007 in The Honolulu Adveriser

A NOAA Fisheries official yesterday applauded the Hawaii Superferry for devising a whale-avoidance policy unlike any other in Hawaiian waters but expressed concern the plan didn't substantially reduce the risk of
harm to endangered humpback whales from the high-speed vessel.

The potential for ferry-whale collisions also was the topic of a Maui court hearing yesterday on whether the ferry should be allowed to resume interisland service while the state conducts an environmental review of publicly funded ferry-related projects at four harbors. A decision is not expected for several days.

Chris Yates, head of the Protected Resources Division for NOAA Fisheries in Hawai'i, did not appear at the court session on a request for a permanent injunction filed by the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and the Kahului Harbor Coalition, but he told The Advertiser that the federal agency is "very concerned" about vessel-whale collisions, not only involving the new 350-foot interisland ferry but other types of large, fast-moving ships that have a higher risk of striking whales.

"Speed kills, and that stands true for highways and for boats and whales," he said.

The Superferry launched service Aug. 26 between Honolulu, Maui and Kaua'i, but was stopped a day later by a Maui court order and protests on Kaua'i. A temporary restraining order remains in effect preventing the ferry from using Kahului Harbor; company officials have not announced when they will resume service to Kaua'i. The state-of-the-art catamaran travels at about 35 knots, or roughly 40 mph. For comparison, NCL America's Pride of America cruise ship based in Hawai'i and Matson container ships cruise at about 22 knots, according to their companies' Web sites.

AN EARLY CONCERN
Whale collisions were an early concern for Hawaii Superferry officials, who participated in a 2003 workshop on issues surrounding vessel-whale strikes that was sponsored by the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

The company also worked closely with the sanctuary's volunteer advisory council to design a whale-avoidance policy that includes avoiding when possible waters of 100 fathoms (600 feet) or less, where whales prefer to congregate, or slowing to no more than 25 knots in those shallower waters, and altering its routes to sail
outside sanctuary boundaries during whale season.

"We're pleased that the Hawaii Superferry went to the effort to reduce the likelihood of striking whales, but their whale-avoidance policy would not eliminate or mitigate that threat enough to make us comfortable that the Hawaii Superferry
would not hit or injure whales," Yates said.

He said that unlike Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, where ferries share the ocean with whales, Hawai'i is a calving ground for humpbacks. Juveniles and whale calves are more vulnerable to boat strikes because they spend more time at the surface, according to Yates.

There were six vessel-whale collisions in Hawai'i during the past whale season, he said.

"As with all ocean vessels, we ask that they have the ability to monitor and detect whales, and to slow down enough to do something about it," Yates said.

The company does not need NOAA Fisheries approval to operate in sanctuary waters, and neither do the hundreds of other cruise ships, interisland barges, freighters, fishing boats, whale-watch tours and other vessels that traverse Hawaiian waters.

Yates said NOAA Fisheries invited the Hawaii Superferry to consult with the agency on measures to reduce the likelihood of whale strikes, as part of its incidental take permit program under the federal Endangered Species Act. He said the company indicated it would consider the offer.

The program is available to state and local governments and private interests that conduct an otherwise lawful activity that might incidentally, but not intentionally, kill a protected species. To receive an incidental take permit, the applicant must submit a conservation plan to offset harmful effects their proposed activity might have.

Terry O'Halloran, Hawaii Superferry director of business development, said yesterday the company has "left the door open" to the possibility of
participating in the program.

O'Halloran was chairman of the sanctuary advisory council, but not yet a Hawaii Superferry employee, when the panel voted to support the company's whale-avoidance policy in 2005. The council comprises ocean recreation, tourism and
maritime interests, Native Hawaiians, state and county representatives and members of the public at large, along with nonvoting members who include marine scientists.

'IT'S NOT ENOUGH'
Superferry officials have said their voluntary whale-avoidance policy goes beyond what is practiced anywhere else in Hawai'i. O'Halloran said the company will extend its observation practices beyond humpback season, to help prevent
collisions with other whale and dolphin species.

In a written declaration entered by the company as part of the court record in the Maui case, Jeffrey Walters, state co-manager of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, said no other vessel in Hawai'i has a similar
whale-avoidance policy that was reviewed and approved by the advisory council.
Walters, who works for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the policy's most important element is the speed reduction in waters of less than 100 fathoms.

"I believe that if Hawaii Superferry fully complies with their whale-avoidance policy,
including the use of forward-looking video cameras mounted on both hulls in whale waters during whale season, the two Hawaii Superferry vessels will present no greater risk to humpback whales ... than several other vessels that currently operate in whale waters during whale season," said Walters' declaration.

During yesterday's Maui court hearing, marine biologist Hannah Bernard testified on behalf of the environmentalists that NOAA Fisheries recommends vessel speeds of about 13 knots to reduce the risk of whale collisions and lessen
the chance of serious injury. "The speed of vessels has been found to be a problem that's linked with whale collisions."

Referring to the Superferry's policy of reducing speeds in shallow waters to 25 knots, Bernard said, "It's not enough."

Responding to a question from Deputy Attorney General William Wynhoff, who said he was trying not to sound callous, Bernard agreed that due to growth in humpback whale numbers in Hawai'i, a few of the animals could be killed without
harming the overall population, which has been estimated at 5,000 to 10,000.

Wynhoff, representing the state Department of Transportation, also suggested that research has shown that vessel-whale strikes occurring at 17 knots and up are 90 percent fatal to the whales, so the outcome of such a collision at speeds at
which the Superferry would be traveling would not significantly increase the risk of death to humpbacks.

Bernard was the lone witness to testify yesterday. Judge Joseph Cardoza will continue the hearing at 10 a.m. today.

SUPERFERRY WHALE AVOIDANCE POLICY VESSEL DESIGN
- Shallow draft, slender hulls reduce area that may strike whales.
- Water-jet propulsion, with no propellers to cut whales.
- Highly maneuverable with the ability to turn,
slow and stop quickly to avoid marine mammals.

OPERATIONS DURING WHALE SEASON (January to April)
- Avoid waters less than 600 feet deep when possible.
- Slow to 25 knots or less in waters of that depth.
- Take routes north of Moloka'i and around
Penguin Banks to avoid whale-dense areas.

STAFF & EQUIPMENT
- Two dedicated whale lookouts in addition to bridge crew.
- Image-stabilized binoculars, laser
range/bearing finders, night-vision systems,
front-facing cameras on each hull.

MANEUVER PROCEDURES
- Actively seek and identify whales ahead of the vessel.
- If whale is sighted within 500 meters, change
course and/or speed until vessel is at least 500
meters away.
- If whale appears suddenly in path of vessel,
execute emergency maneuvers to avoid whales while
considering vessel and passenger safety.

SOURCE: DICK MAYER dickmayer@earthlink.net

Risk of Superferry colliding with whale is 'very high'
by Gary T. Kubota on 11 September 2007 in The Star Bulletin

A marine biologist said there was a "very high likelihood" of humpback whales being struck and hurt by a vessel traveling higher than 16 mph -- well below the top speed of about 45 mph for the Hawaii Superferry.

Hannah Bernard testified yesterday in Maui Circuit Court that studies of ferries show higher speeds increase the difficulty of seeing humpback whales and avoiding them.

Bernard was the first witness yesterday on behalf of citizen and environmental groups seeking to require Superferry officials to complete an environmental assessment before operating the catamaran-style vessel.

Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza denied a motion by the groups' attorney, Isaac Hall, yesterday to rule that, as a matter of law, the operation of the Superferry should be halted pending completion of its environmental assessment.

Cardoza ruled a couple of weeks ago that the Superferry required an environmental assessment, but has not decided whether to allow the interisland service to continue operation while conducting the study.

Cardoza decided yesterday to extend a temporary restraining order to halt the Superferry operation through 2 p.m. today.

The Hawaii Superferry started service Aug. 26 between Oahu and Kahului Harbor but was forced to halt operations two days later after Cardoza issued the temporary restraining order.

The court hearing continues at 10 a.m. today, with Hall continuing to call witnesses on behalf of Maui Tomorrow, the Sierra Club of Hawaii and the Kahului Harbor Coalition.

The hearing could take days if not weeks. Hall alone has presented a list of 28 potential witnesses, according to a Superferry attorney, and officials with the state Department of Transportation and the Superferry are expected to also call witnesses on their behalf.

Superferry attorney Lisa Munger indicated she did not want the court hearing to become a "filibuster" to continue the temporary restraining order halting the operations.

Much of yesterday was spent with Bernard on the witness stand and attorneys arguing about her qualifications. Cardoza eventually accepted her as an expert witness.

Bernard, who sits as an adviser on a Pacific scientific review group with the National Marine Fisheries Service, said studies have shown increasing the speed of the vessel results in serious injury and mortality to marine mammals.

Bernard said in Glacier Bay, Alaska, where there are humpbacks, the speed of vessels is limited to nearly 15 mph and is lowered to 11.5 mph in waters known to have more whales.

She said Superferry officials' plan to reduce speeds to 27.6 mph during humpback season was inadequate.

By comparison, interisland barges travel at 13 to 20 mph, according to the Pacific Whale Foundation. Bernard also said the Superferry plan did not
sufficiently address the other marine mammals, including pilot whales and dolphins, present throughout the year in Hawaii.

Voice Concerns about illegal Security Zone
by Scott Mijares on 10 September 2007 - 11:15pm scott@hawaiianwoodys.com

I just posted the following to the US Depatment of Transportation website.
http://dms.dot.gov/search/searchResultsSimple.cfm?numberValue=29153&searchTy
pe=docket

If you have time you should voice your concerns. If you haven't read Lannys comments regarding the Emergency Rule you should. He is looking for people on Kauai that will sign the petition that he is filing tomorrow. You can add your name to it latter as well.

Dear US Department of Transportation & US Coast Guard,

I would like to respectfully submit my opposition to the temporary final rule / emergency rule. It appears to the good people of Kauai that the USCG is conspiring with a private corporation to violate the laws of our state constitution. On August 23, 2006 the State Supreme Court ruled that the Hawaii Superferry violated state laws when it opened for business without an Environmental Impact Study. The ruling lead to a TRO prohibiting the Hawaii Superferry from entering Kahalui Harbor on Maui but made no mention of other
Harbors around the State.

The Hawaii Superferry then decided that it would drop its fares to $5.00 and begin service to Nawiliwili Harbor on Kauai two days ahead of schedule. On August 26, 2007 the Hawaii Superferry came to Kauai and was met by concerned citizens who felt that the Superferry was violating the law by way of a Supreme Court decision just 3 days earlier. The Kauai citizens lined the jetty road carrying signs. A small group of surfers/swimmers armed with surfboards and boogie boards entered the water in an effort to defend their
harbor from the defiant Hawaii Superferry Corporation.

Not too long after the initial standoff a coastguard boat entered the scene. The vessel was manned by several armed (armed with hand guns) officers and a huge machine gun that was mounted on the bow of the boat. The Machine gun was on a swivel and was being pointed around by a USCG officer who had both hands on the trigger(s).

The whole thing was very scary but the surfers were not to be intimidated. They held their ground and maintained that they were defending their harbor against an illegal vessel attempting to land in the face of a Supreme Court ruling.

My question is -- Isn't the US Coast Guard supposed to uphold the law?

Why is the USCG attempting to guarantee the Hawaii Superferry safe passage into Nawiliwili before the Hawaii Supreme Court has a chance to sort out this mess?

At the end of the day our citizens will not be harmed buy the Superferry. If they are injured it will be because of the law enforcement officers. On August 26, 2007 a Coast Guard boat struck several swimmers as it was speeding around the harbor trying to control the crowd. This was all happening while the Superferry was at a complete stand still. The Superferry always had a clear and open channel from which to exit the harbor.

This emergency rule is wrong. I will not work. It is subject to numerous legal challenges and will no doubt end up with someone getting hurt. Here on Kauai we are already getting reports from friends and family that work for the Fire Department, Emergency Medical Technicians, and Hospital personnel that they are preparing for confrontations and injuries as a result of this “Rule”.

For What? So a private corporation can enter Nawiliwili Harbor while a Supreme Court Judge determines its fate?

If the US Coast Guard does not agree to guarantee the Hawaii Superferry safe passage into Nawiliwili Harbor it will not come. Nobody will get hurt and the US Coast Guard is not seen on International TV harming swimmers and surfers that are trying to do what law enforcement refuses to do – defend their homeland.

Please repeal this ridiculous rule and allow our Supreme Court to rule on this important issue.

Mahalo for the opportunity to voice my opposition to the “Rule”Yours truly,

Scott Mijares

Community Meeting on HSF with Mayor
by Jonahan Jay on 10 September 2007 - 10:30pm jonathan@DAkauai.com

Aloha,

I Just got back from a meeting with a PRO-EIS group down at Nawiliwili harbor, and we are looking to set up a meeting with the Mayor for this Wednesday afternoon after 4:00pm.

We are urging the Mayor to stand up and provide local leadership in regards to the Ferry. We welcome the KKCR's Kaua'i Community Soapbox serving as yet another opportunity for Mayor Baptiste to stand up and show local leadership.
As the leading elected executive on the island, we are still waiting for Mayor Baptiste to make it clear to the HSF Corporation the official position of the County of Kaua'i: an EIS is requested BEFORE ferry service begins to Kaua`i.

The people have made this clear. The people will continue to make this clear. The Council made this clear over a year ago when they unanimously (7-0) issued a resolution requesting the same.

Whether you are pro- or anti- ferry is NOT the issue. EVERYONE should be FOR and EIS. Bringing hard facts and likely outcomes onto the table and into the light of day for public scrutiny serves the public interest. There are at least 40 million reasons why the public interest must be served. The Ferry Corporation is not above the law, and Governor Lingle has no authority to suggest they should be above the law.

We welcome the Mayors local leadership in this important matter. He has the authority to make it clear to the HSF Corporation, their service is not welcome on Kaua`i until they complete a full and independent EIS.

When The Mayor of Kaua`i stands up and provides local leadership, the people will stand down. When leaders lead, the people will follow. If the mayor chooses not to provide this leadership, we shall continue to directly defend Kaua`i from the unlawful operation of the Ferry "Alakai".

Always with aloha,

by Keone Kealoha on 10 Spetmeber 2007 - 11:00pm

I absolutely agree with the above statement. Thank you for your mana'o
Jonathan.

Mahalo,

Keone Kealoha
Director Malama Kaua’i
phone: 808.828.0685
cell: 808.634.8174
fax: 808.828.0485
email: keone@malamakauai.org
http://www.MalamaKauai.org

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