September 24, 2007

Hawaii Superferry suspends Kauai service

Hawaii Superferry announced Friday that it is suspending service to and from Kauai until an unspecified future date.

Service to Kauai was scheduled to resume this week, with the Coast Guard setting strict new safety rules to manage in-water protests against the ferry.

However a crowd of more than 1,100 greeted Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle at a community meeting she held in Kauai last Thursday to discuss the resumption of the service.

At that meeting, many ferry opponents made it clear that they were ready to breach the new security rules.

Hawaii Superferry said it had made the decision to suspend service "in consideration for the safety of the community, our passengers and our dedicated employees."