The Hawaii Superferry’s Alakai won’t be traveling to Kauai this week despite a Coast Guard’s new fixed security zone in place at Nawiliwili Harbor.
No decision has been made yet as to when service to Kauai will resume, company spokesman Terry O’Halloran said. He said the company is working closely with the Coast Guard to determine a date.
The Coast Guard said it has drawn a line in the water that, if crossed by protesters, will result in arrests.
The new security procedures were announced after a meeting held on Kauai on Monday between the Coast Guard, Superferry officials, Kauai officials and representatives of invited opposing groups.
The Coast Guard will set up a boom, usually used for oil spills, to block off a section of the harbor to allow for safe passage of the Superferry, while allowing those who want to protest from the water to do so without blocking the vessel’s entrance.
The boom will run roughly from Kukii Point and west to a jetty off Kalapaki Beach, blocking off a small section of the harbor for what the Coast Guard considers a legal demonstration.
A moving 100-yard security zone that surrounds vessels is already in place for all cruise ships, which the Coast Guard said includes the Superferry. But the Coast Guard took the additional step of invoking a temporary rule for a fixed security zone.
(Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
