A damaged rudder post has idled the Superferry. See the KMBG9 video showing two photos taken of the Superferry slammed by waves in the channel. Coast Guard indicated it is keeping a close watch on the vessel since it is an untested design.
Some speculate the Superferry construction just wasn't up to our interisland channel conditions. We hope that is the problem and that the damage was not caused by an unreported whale strike.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Safety Concerns Ground Superferry
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4 comments:
Seems like the Superferry is taking up way more than its share of Coast Guard time. The Coast Guard had to cancel its Northwestern Island cleanup to protect Superferry against all the "dangerous" protesters on Maui. Then they had to escort the Superferry when they announced a second trip to Maui (and absolutely no protesters showed up because they knew Mayor Tavares was on top of it)
And now the Coast Guard has to babysit the Superferry because it may fall apart due to poor design!
“We did not hit a whale,” Garibaldi
Oh, yeah. We believe everything you say, Garibaldi!
From the Honolulu Advertiser on Sat Feb 2, 2008:
The Hawaii Superferry announced on Thursday afternoon it was resuming service to Maui on Friday, but canceled those plans several hours later.The Coast Guard said the Superferry must undergo "sea trials" before it gets the green light to resume service.A representative for the Superferry said there was an "unexpected delay" in the completion of repair work. A public relations firm representing the company said the vessel has been out of service since Sunday because of bad weather.
On Wednesday, the company confirmed there were cracks involving an "auxiliary rudder." Work crews started making the repairs on Thursday."Sea trials are conducted basically to check and ensure that the vessel's integrity is worthy," Petty Officer Luke Clayton said. "So, even if it's something that seems minute, if the marine inspector sees it as being an important piece of the vessel in order for it to operate, then it needs to be fixed in order to resume operations."The Superferry maintained that it was the weather and not the repairs that kept it from sailing between Sunday and Wednesday. The company said the repair work is expected to be complete on Friday.The Superferry said it contacted passengers about the cancellation. It expects to resume service on Saturday, weather permitting.
Superferry: "We cancelled due to weather."
Coat Guard: "These cracks need to be repaired before the vessel can sail safely." [cracks to rudders]
Superferry: "the vessel's two auxiliary rudders are rarely used"
Coast Guard: "the rudders also serve to stabilize the ship."
Superferry: "We're resuming service Friday."
Coast Guard: "Oh no you aren't!"
You have to wonder why Superferry officials feel the need to lie so often. And why they can't figure out it does them more harm than good.
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