Hawaii workers say losing that
$30 million in contracts
could sink the industry

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii's economy today took another body blow, with the Navy accused of putting the state's privately owned shipyards and ship-repair industry out of business by no longer contracting local private shipyards to do some $30 million worth of work.

The loss of Navy shipyard repair work will have a major rippling effect on the state's marine transportation infrastructure, including inter-island barge service, inter-island transportation of fuel for power plants, locally based and visiting cruise vessels, and cargo ships requiring repair work, say industry representatives.

But the Navy says cutbacks are occurring because "constrained resources and limited dollars" are forcing military planners to better use resources and workers at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.

John Ball, president of the 34-member Ship Repair Association of Hawaii, said 200 ship repair workers have been laid off at various private shipyards and an additional 100 to 150 will lose their jobs within the next 30 days.

"The Navy has traditionally represented 70 percent of our industry's total volume," said Ball, general manager of Honolulu Shipyard. "Without the Navy work, Hawaii will, within a matter of months, cease to have a viable ship repair industry."

However, Cmdr. Kevin Wensing, Navy spokesman, said, "the Navy is working to make efficient use of taxpayer dollars and the best utilization of the facilities" at Pearl Harbor.

Fred Anawati, president of Marisco Ltd., said during the past weeks, he has cut the labor force at his Barbers Point facility from 110 to 64 men, and may have to lay off 15 to 20 more people. He said 60 percent of his jobs are with the Navy and he would have to close his 8,000-ton drydock -- the largest in the state, which he started 25 years ago -- if he loses the military's business.

"Without this drydock, a large portion of the local barge fleet and other ships will have to be drydocked on the West Coast," he said.

Ball said "commercial work alone is simply not enough to support the large capital investment in drydocks, piers and repair facilities that the ship-repair business requires. This means vessel operators who depend upon us to maintain Hawaii's marine transportation infrastructure will no longer have local support."

Arthur Onikama, president of Walashek Industries, said: "The Navy is putting us out of business, and when we go, the people of Hawaii will suffer because ships will have to go to the West Coast to be repaired -- and that's going to add cost to everything."

Glenn Hong, president of inter-island barge company Young Brothers, added that the loss of local drydocks would mean "a significant disruption to -- and increase the cost of -- delivering goods and materials to the neighbor islands."

Ben Toyama, spokesman for the Metal Trades Council at Pearl Harbor, said the changes come as the Navy consolidates its shipyard repair operations and continues to reorganize.

He said much of the work traditionally done by the private sector is now being handled internally and "Pearl Harbor also has imported couple hundred of workers from mainland shipyards."