Deal falls through to send ship from Hawaii to Scotland
HONOLULU — A deal fell through to send a late 19th century iron-hulled ship from Honolulu to Scotland.
Scotland-based Save Falls of Clyde International canceled the ship scheduled to pick up the historic vessel Feb. 3, citing logistical problems.
The group might have been a “bit optimistic” about the time it would take to secure commercial sponsors for the project, said David O’Neill, the group’s director.
“We are still very much 100 percent committed to saving this ship as she has a role to play that will benefit citizens of Hawaii, the environment and help create new opportunities across the Pacific region,” O’Neill said. “If we succeed we will save Hawaii taxpayers almost up to $1.5 million, which has been estimated as the cost for Harbors to sink her.”
Falls of Clyde is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in Port Glasgow, Scotland, in 1878. The ship is thought to be the last surviving vessel of its kind.
The state Harbors Division has given the ship’s owner until Feb. 6 to move the vessel from Pier 7 at Honolulu Harbor. The state plans to start auction proceedings if the deadline is not met, said Bruce McEwan, president of the Honolulu friends group.
Falls of Clyde has been docked at Pier 7 for free since 2008. The state impounded it in August 2016.
All Nippon taking reservations for flights on largest jet
HONOLULU — Japan-based All Nippon Airways started taking reservations for flights between Tokyo and Honolulu on an Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger airliner.
The airline expects to put its first 520-seat aircraft into service in late May. It started reserving seats earlier this month.
The carrier ordered three Airbus A380s in 2016. The big planes offer more seating options and greater comfort, even in coach, according to the airline.
All Nippon Airways plans to launch service on the A380 with flights three days per week between Honolulu and the Narita International Airport. It currently has two flights departing from Narita to Honolulu and one flight departing from Haneda Airport to Honolulu. Both airports serve the Tokyo area.
The airline anticipates moving to 10 flights per week when the second A380 enters service in July. The airline expects to ramp up its Japan-Hawaii capacity to about 1,300 customers per day by 2020 if all goes according to plan, said Jun Miyagawa, the airline’s senior vice president of sales.
Coral reefs stabilizing following bleaching event
KAILUA-KONA — Coral reefs in waters off West Hawaii are stabilizing nearly four years after the state’s worst bleaching event, according to an environmental organization.
Warm ocean water temperatures caused the first statewide bleaching event in 2015. Surveys by The Nature Conservancy found an average of 60 percent of coral off West Hawaii bleached, with some reefs experiencing up to 90 percent mortality.
While bleached coral often recovers, multiple years of bleaching weaken the organisms and increases the risk of death.
Scientists with The Nature Conservancy have studied coral reefs for the past three years to identify the most resilient.
The scientists found that many of the most resilient reefs are in remote areas with limited shoreline access and human exposure. Those reefs had little or no coral disease, and evidence indicated new corals were beginning to grow.
The least resilient reefs have multiple stressors, such as fishing and pollution.