Cruise firm undeterred
by ship seizures

The day after two of its whale- watching boats were seized by federal marshals, Dream Cruises said it has resumed operations.

Michael Watson, president of Aquamarine Hawaii Inc., which operates Dream Cruises, said the company secured the use of the 100-foot boat Ale Ale Kai, under a short-term arrangement with the vessel's owner.

Watson said the company conducted five cruises yesterday on the Ale Ale Kai, which is berthed at Kewalo Basin.

"We are operating and continue to serve our guests," Watson said.

The U.S. Marshals Service seized Aquamarine's two ships, the American Dream and the Kona Dream, after mainland lender General Electric Capital Corp. filed two lawsuits in U.S. District Court on Monday alleging that the company defaulted on a $1.4 million loan.

Watson said he was in discussions with GE Capital and hopes to resolve the dispute shortly.

Watson took issue with the lender's charge that his company has made no payments on a three-year loan, issued last August. He said the company had made some payments but fell several months behind before the lender filed suit on Monday.

GE Capital is asking that a federal judge condemn the American Dream and the Kona Dream and authorize their sales to pay for the loan. Mark Desmarais, GE Capital's local attorney, said that Aquamarine has 20 days to answer the lawsuits.

The seizure is the latest in a string of troubles to hit the tour boat operator.

On Christmas 2003, a 3-year-old Virginia boy died of head and neck injuries after the American Dream collided with a whale off Diamond Head. The boy's family reached a settlement with the tour operator last year.

That was followed by the death last month of a 22-year-old tourist from Japan, who jumped into the ocean during a whale-watching excursion off Oahu.