Port calls by cruise WAILUKU >> Molokai is scheduled to become a stop for passenger cruise ships starting Dec. 28, giving some Friendly Isle residents hope about lifting their slumping economy.
ships split Molokai
Some fear the stops will have an adverse
impact on reefs off Kaunakakai HarborBy Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.comBut the scheduled arrival of the Statendam is also stirring some opposition among those who fear the potential adverse impact on the ocean and reefs off Kaunakakai Harbor.
Members of the group Hui Hoopakela Aina said they're afraid of oil pollution and alien species being introduced from the ship, especially from ocean waters released from the vessel's ballast.
Hui spokesman Walter Ritte said the community wasn't given the opportunity to participate in any environmental review, which seems unfair, considering what people have to go through to rebuild a fishpond on Molokai.
"There was no process to even ask questions," Ritte said. "It took us six years to move just a traditional fish pond stone, and these guys can drive up to our reef with a floating city with no process at all."
Coast Guard Lt. Robert Haggerty, who supervises marine safety on Maui, said there was virtually no danger of alien species contamination from the ships because of ballast releases.
Haggerty said unlike cargo vessels, passenger ships do not normally take on and discharge water from their ballast.
Anne Stevens, an official with Quay Cruise Agency representing the Statendam, said the vessel is inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard and has complied with all environmental regulations.
Scott Cunningham, the Maui district harbor manager, said that for the most part, foreign cruise vessels may disembark passengers on Molokai if the state has space available for ferrying them.
Cunningham said the cruise lines have generally been "good partners" and recently entered into an agreement with the state that increases environmental protection requirements above the level set by the Coast Guard.
Under the schedule, the Statendam would stop off Molokai on a 12-hour visit on Dec. 28. In 2003, the arrivals occur on Jan. 22, April 15, and tentatively on Nov. 27 or 28.
Other passenger ships stopping off at Molokai in 2003 include the Amsterdam on April 18 and Royal Princess on Dec. 13.
Holland America Line, operator of the Statendam, describes Molokai as the "less-touristed island" and the "itinerary highlight" in its 16-day Circle Hawaii cruises.
The advance promotion on Holland America's Web site says once on Molokai, passengers may go deep sea fishing off the coast or explore the island's scenic beauty, history and ancient places of worship on an east Molokai tour.
Other activities include mule rides to Kalaupapa and a hoolaulea with food and entertainment at Malama Cultural Park near Kaunakakai Harbor.
Sandy Beddow, director of the Molokai Visitors Association, said a shuttle will also be provided between the wharf and Kaunakakai town.
Beddow said the passengers aboard the Statendam will be generally an older group, retired and in their sixties.
She expects about 600 of the 1,000 passengers to visit Molokai, an island with an estimated population of about 7,000 residents.
Cunningham said he understands that the early visits will help to determine if Molokai remains a regular stop.
"A lot will hinge on how things go with the December call," he said.
Molokai's unemployment rate was 9 percent in September, a 2.6 percent improvement over the same month last year, following the terrorist attacks on the East Coast and a drop in tourism.
Zhantell Dudoit, whose business is helping to organize the hoolaulea, said she feels Ritte's group has "good environmental concerns" but she also believes there is room for a compromise.
"We need the business," she said.
Holland America Line
County of Maui
