A boat owner trying to donate a possibly historic vessel to a museum may see it destroyed by the state of Hawaii before dueling bureaucracies in government figure out what to do. State seems determined
that one-of-a-kind boat
will be historyThe craft is the "Bali Hai," a 63-foot military AVR or aviation rescue boat owned by David Ford of Honolulu. The state impounded the craft because Ford owed the state $500 in fees and fines at Keehi Lagoon harbor.
The boat sank at its moorings under mysterious circumstances on Feb. 28, and the fines include $11 a day for "having a submerged boat without a permit," Ford said. He's also in arrears in mooring fees and owes the state for his legal hearings.
According to Ford, who contacted the vessel's constructor, Miami Shipbuilding, the boat is the last of its kind in the United States, and may have served in combat, judging by repaired bullet holes.
A marine surveyor hired by the state, Dennis Smith, disagreed. He contended that Ford's AVR had no historic value and could not be salvaged.
Even so, maritime museums across the country have expressed interest in the craft, as have U.S. Navy historians and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. But the boat's legal status as impounded state property complicates efforts to preserve it.
The State Historic Preservation Division, normally in charge of state-owned historic resources, may have its hands tied. According to SHPD architectural historian Tonia Moy: "Both we and DOBAR (Division of Boating and Recreation) are under the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and it's a department decision to seize the boat and dispose of it."
Despite SHPD's interest, no copy of the ruling against Ford was forwarded to her, Moy said. "I don't know what's going on, so I don't know what to say."
After a hearing May 30 that Ford had requested to slow the state's decision to seize and destroy "Bali Hai," Ford was not surprised when the state's attorneys backed the state's position.
"Fait accompli," he said. "We had to go through the motions, but no one has ever prevailed against the state at any of these hearings, ever, because the merits are decided with built-in prejudice. It's state-hired attorneys -- with the aid of the state attorney general's office -- representing a state office, with supporting documentation provided by state-hired, so-called experts, all lined up against an average citizen trying to do the right thing."
Arrayed against Ford were Keehi harbormaster Wesley Choi, Department of Boating and Recreation's Steve Thompson, assistant Attorney General Wayne Matsuura and hearing officer Keith Tanaka. Tanaka is a former state attorney general who operates a golf shop in the same building as DOBAR.
A key element in the state's legal rationale for impounding the vessel was Smith's marine survey report. "But Smith's report also stated it could not be used in a legal proceeding, and yet, there it is," Ford noted.
When contacted, Smith said such language is boilerplate in marine consultations. "The fact remains, that boat wasn't operable 20 years ago, and it was never improved. Ford never kept it seaworthy. This is nothing but a shibai. People have their deteriorated junk sink in the harbor, and suddenly they claim it's valuable. Smith says he had a diver inspect the "Bali Hai."
Ford says there's no evidence Smith did so. "Dennis Smith is the guy the state sends in to justify boat seizures," said attorney Jack Schweigert, who recently represented another citizen in a case against DOBAR, and won large punitive damages. The irony, Schweigert said, is that "the boat should be in better hands under state control than in Ford's. Now that they've impounded it, the historic-preservation division comes into play, and the state must consider the boat's historic potential. If there are people out there willing to preserve it as a historic site or relic, why destroy it?"
Thompson said the next step is to publish a legal notice regarding the boat's disposition, which must be posted within 30 days. Ford is free to reclaim the "Bali Hai" provided he pays the state's legal fees against him, he said.
"They want to destroy it as soon as they can get away with it," Ford asserted. "Thompson told me in 1997 that he'd 'have it now, or have it later, but the state will make sure' the boat is destroyed."
Burl Burlingame is a Star-Bulletin staff writer. My Turn is a periodic column written by
Star-Bulletin staff members expressing
their personal views.