Skip to main content
Tuesday, November 10, 2026Nov 10
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Hawaii ferry dreams face cost, public opinion hurdles

FILE - In this June 30, 2007, file photo, a surfer catches a wave at Kakaako Waterfront Park as the Hawaii Superferry approaches Aloha Towers in Honolulu. Hawaii officials are exploring what it would take to run a ferry between islands. But they're facing skepticism over costs and whether there's a ferry system residents would accept. But the idea is bringing back memories of the Superferry, an emotional and expensive failure in Hawaii history. Years ago protesters blocked the Superferry from docking in Kauai. And a court later ordered the ferry to stop running because the state didn't do a proper environmental review. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)
FILE - In this June 30, 2007, file photo, a surfer catches a wave at Kakaako Waterfront Park as the Hawaii Superferry approaches Aloha Towers in Honolulu. Hawaii officials are exploring what it would take to run a ferry between islands. But they're facing skepticism over costs and whether there's a ferry system residents would accept. But the idea is bringing back memories of the Superferry, an emotional and expensive failure in Hawaii history. Years ago protesters blocked the Superferry from docking in Kauai. And a court later ordered the ferry to stop running because the state didn't do a proper environmental review. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File) FILE - In this June 30, 2007, file photo, a surfer catches a wave at Kakaako Waterfront Park as the Hawaii Superferry approaches Aloha Towers in Honolulu. Hawaii officials are exploring what it would take to run a ferry between islands. But they're facing skepticism over costs and whether there's a ferry system residents would accept. But the idea is bringing back memories of the Superferry, an emotional and expensive failure in Hawaii history. Years ago protesters blocked the Superferry from docking in Kauai. And a court later ordered the ferry to stop running because the state didn't do a proper environmental review. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)

By Associated Press 4 min read

HONOLULU (AP) – When a 30-foot-tall ferry loomed outside a Kauai harbor in 2007, surfers and kayakers – looking like tiny ducks in comparison – blocked its path, preventing it from unloading hundreds of passengers and sending the giant catamaran back to Oahu.

The emotional standoff where surfers bobbed in the water for hours marked the end to an expensive failure in Hawaii’s history: the Superferry. Now the state is exploring bringing back a ferry to run between islands, facing skepticism over financing and whether there’s a ferry system residents would accept.

Lawmakers approved $50,000 in May to study a possible inter-island ferry, and the state Department of Transportation received a $500,000 grant from the federal Maritime Administration to hire consultants to explore potential routes and boats.

“The feasibility study might come back and say maybe it’s not financially feasible for us to do this,” said Ford Fuchigami, director of the state Transportation Department. “But right now, using federal money which is available … we want to be sure that we use that money to see whether or not this is possible.”

The Hawaii Superferry ran primarily between Oahu and Maui from 2007 until 2009, but was shut down after a judge ruled the state broke the law by not completing required environmental reviews.