New shipper courts
Hawaii political players

A California company
has plans for two new
container ships

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By Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.com

A California shipping company that wants to run high-technology, fuel-efficient container ships between Southern California and Hawaii, yesterday won a public endorsement from Gov. Ben Cayetano.

At a press conference in his office, packed with representatives of Hawaii maritime businesses, harbor pilots, state and county officials and mainland-Hawaii traders, Cayetano said he was first contacted by A.P. "Stas" Margaronis, president of Santa Maria Shipowning & Trading, about three years ago.

Margaronis told him he wanted to set up a two-ship, Southern California-Hawaii container ship line, plying between the mainland and the Barbers Point harbor. Cayetano said he told his staff, "check him out," and found a guy whose family had 200-plus years in the shipping business.

Margaronis introduced friends and supporters in the community, including Charles Toguchi, Cayetano's former chief of staff, as the company's "political adviser," to show that he has done his preparation.

He said his company has applied for financing under a federal program that guarantees loans, up to 87.5 percent of the total cost, for ships built in the United States.

The Santa Maria contract with Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co. in Mobile, Ala., to build two 8,500-ton ships, each capable of carrying 367 45-foot containers, is contingent on that financing coming through, said Margaronis.

He declined to disclose how much it might cost to build the two ships or how the total financing will be arranged, or what his company's total investment might be.

Responding to questions about hardships being faced by the long-established lines in mainland-Hawaii shipping, Margaronis said his company won't get more than 5 percent or 6 percent of the trade.

Its niche, he said, comes from trading direct from California to West Oahu, the area of fastest development, and from providing Maui's first direct container ship link from the mainland.

Margaronis, who founded Santa Maria in 1998, said his ships will have low fuel efficiency. The crew will be unionized. The company hopes to get a $2 million crane established at Barbers Point even though the ships' on-board cranes can load and offload the cargo.

He said he has confidence in the development of Kapolei and the rest of West Oahu and "it's a nice little function to have a container ship 10 minutes from your office."

His company plans one call a week in the islands, he said.

Long-established competitors Matson Navigation and CSX Lines said they can handle the competition and they will concentrate on customer service, which already involves bigger and faster ships making four Honolulu calls a week by Matson and three by CSX.