HARBOR
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The quakes opened this large crack in the asphalt at Kawaihae Harbor. CLICK FOR LARGE
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1 of 3 piers at Kawaihae reopens; cargo resumes to West Hawaii
KAWAIHAE, Hawaii » A portion of Kawaihae Harbor, closed because of Sunday's earthquakes, reopened yesterday, assuring nearly normal flow of goods to West Hawaii.
The Coast Guard authorized the state to open Pier 2B at 4:45 p.m., said Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa. A Young Brothers barge waiting offshore was immediately towed to the pier, he said.
While not as visually dramatic as highway lanes collapsed into gullies during the Sunday quakes, numerous cracks crisscrossed the acres of harbor working area.
The question engineers had to answer was whether the cracks were an inconvenience or a danger.
Although Pier 2B was cleared, there was no immediate answer for Piers 1 and 2A.
On Sunday, Waimea residents 12 miles inland realized the possible disruption in the flow of goods, and long lines formed at stores and gas stations by 9 a.m., said Waimea resident Patti Cook.
They need not have worried.
Ishikawa said a Young Brothers barge was diverted from Kawaihae to Hilo Harbor on Sunday night. A Matson barge went directly to Hilo on Monday.
Big Island harbormaster Ian Birnie said the switch meant that containers were offloaded in Hilo and trucked to Kawaihae, causing a delay of only one day in goods getting to their normal distribution point.
With Pier 2A open, the area normally used exclusively by Matson will now be shared with Young Brothers, Birnie said.
Fuel was another concern, since pipes used to offload tanker barges fell from supports under the piers, said Kawaihae harbor agent Elton Suganuma. Although dangling in the water, the pipes were not damaged, he said.
Only one company, Mid-Pacific Petroleum, uses Kawaihae to offload fuel for West Hawaii, Birnie said. Remaining companies, such as Tesoro, Shell and Aloha, deliver fuel to Hilo and then truck it to West Hawaii.
A major cause for the damage at Kawaihae is that paved areas are built on fill placed on former reefs.
During the quakes, the fill material settled, dropping ground level from 4 to 11 inches lower than the piers, he said.
One crack cut under the front wall of a warehouse used for 11 years by Na Kalai Waa Moku O Hawaii for the voyaging canoe Makalii and the new Maisu, waiting to be sailed to Micronesia.
The crack, initially 13 inches wide, increased to 15 inches with yesterday's 4.9 earthquake. Now the canoe building may have to be torn down, Suganuma said.