Hawaii SuperFerry Files for Bankruptcy
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Corporate Financials, Events, Other Corporation, Surface Ships - Other
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In his April 6/09 discussion of the FY 2010 budget, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates said that the US military wanted to charter another 2 “JHSV-like” fast catamaran ships from 2009-2011, until the JHSV ships begin arriving. That meant JHSV-winner Austal would find its products competing once more with Incat, which has had 4 of its wave-piercing catamarans chartered by various American services. Their Swift wave-piercing catamaran is currently chartered by the Navy as HSV-2, just as the Austal-built Westpac Express is chartered by US Military Sealift Command for the Marines.
One obvious option was the Hawaiian Superferry catamarans, a larger pair of Austal-built ships that resemble the Westpac Express. In late March 2009, the ferries were sidelined following a Hawaiian court decision, which mandated additional environmental reviews for the service. Unfortunately, a federal charter may become more complicated, as the firm has just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The firm reportedly has just $1 million in cash, and is facing a $2.9 million principal and interest payment on one of the ferry construction loans. MarineLog’s “Hawaii Superferry files for Chapter 11” explains the situation, and details the firm’s various creditors.
