Hawaii Superferry’s to be Auctioned

Hawaii Superferry’s to be Auctioned

The Hawaii Superferry's two decommissioned vessels -- the Alakai and Huakai -- are sitting in a Norfolk, Virginia shipyard waiting to be sold in a court-ordered auction more than a year after the ferry operator filed for bankruptcy. The two catamarans are in the possession of the U.S. Maritime Administration -- a federal agency that provided a $140 million loan to Hawaii Superferry in 2005 -- and will be sold to the highest bidder once the bankruptcy court that is handling the case sets an auction date. Agency officials said they expect the court to set a sale date soon.

The vessels are 349-foot catamarans that can carry 866 passengers and 282 automobiles. The Alakai was constructed by Austal at its shipyard in Mobile, Alabama and arrived in Hawaii in June 2007. The ship made its maiden voyage between Honolulu and Maui in August 2007, and navigated choppy political and financial waters before the company went bankrupt in May 2009. The Huakai was completed in September 2008, but was not delivered to Hawaii because of the operator's deteriorating finances and then-uncertain future. In January 2010, the Maritime Administration sent both ships to Haiti to help with the agency's earthquake relief efforts.  The Hawaii Superferry issue resurfaced Monday when two Hawaiian Democratic gubernatorial candidates said they wanted to revive the ferry service.