In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that deemed the law allowing the ferry to continue to operate while conducting its environmental review unconstitutional —thereby forcing the Superferry to defer its operations in Island waters — it's useful to review some of the claims and the history of the company since its start in 2001.

The main issues brought forward by lawsuit's three plaintiffs, the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and Kahului Harbor Coalition, are potential danger to whales, invasive species and Neighbor Island traffic.

The most mentioned issue is the potential for whale strikes. The case's plaintiff, Irene Bowie, director of Maui Tomorrow, is a founder of the Pacific Whale Foundation, which was involved in a whale strike in 2006 involving a mother and its calf. PWF also was fined thousands of dollars in 2003. The Pacific Whale Foundation pleaded no contest to five counts and was fined $5,000 for incidents during humpback whale research activities; and in April 2000, the company paid another $5,000 fine to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for falsifying and withholding research records in 1998.

Whale-watch operators are paid by customers to take them as close as legally possible to endangered humpback whales so they can take photos. Unlike every other type of boat or ship, whale-watch operators intentionally head toward endangered whales every day in the densest whale population areas such as the "whale soup" area between Maui and Lana'i. The results speak for themselves: Three strikes to endangered humpback whales have already occurred in this area so far in 2009.

While Hawai'i's whale-watch industry clearly has a problem, the draft Environmental Impact Statement states that Hawaii Superferry is not a threat to marine mammals because it routes specially to avoid whales and places two dedicated whale lookouts on the bridge using special observing equipment. Perhaps it's the whale-watch industry that should be better regulated.

Invasive species are an issue for every interisland operator. Superferry inspects vehicles, passengers and baggage more closely than any other operator and will not carry sealed containers that cannot be inspected. The draft EIS states Superferry is a small player in comparison to barges and the air travel industry, and has no significant impact to the movement of invasive species. There is an irony that this issue's chief plaintiff is Jeff Parker, director of Kahului Harbor Coalition and owner of Tropical Orchid Farms in Maui, a company that imports exotic orchids from Africa, among other places.

What about traffic that Hawaii Superferry might add to the Neighbor Islands? First, to dispel a popular myth, there is no net vehicle increase on any island because (for example) when a Maui resident or visitor departs on the ferry, his or her car does, too —to be replaced by an arriving passenger.

The draft EIS states that in Kahului there is no measurable onload/offload traffic impact in Kahului at the hours when the ferry operates except for the one upgrade recommended to Pu'unene Avenue at Ka'ahumanu Avenue, which will improve traffic to a top A-rating. This is in contrast to traffic that rated an E —just one grade from the bottom —prior to the start of ferry service.

Superferry ship specification began in 2001 shortly after 9/11 grounded Hawai'i's airliners for four days. We knew interisland customers are used to flying and would not tolerate a slow 8-hour ferry trip, which is also too slow to get farm goods, milk and bread to market the same day. And the expensive cabins and large room-cleaning crews for such ferries would make ticket prices too expensive.

The ferries had to be large to deal with Hawai'i's ocean conditions and to take delivery trucks with such items as fresh produce, packages and (of course) Love's Bakery.

We visited the operators of long-haul ferry systems worldwide to evaluate the best operating practices and design features. With the help of Dr. Pierre Flament at the University of Hawai'i School of Ocean Science and others, we developed a comprehensive Hawai'i ocean-condition study using 20 years of wave buoy and satellite data.

From this, we developed a design specifically for Hawai'i including electric power plugs for refrigerator trucks, higher car decks to accommodate canoe racks for paddlers, comfortable leather sofas and coffee tables for families, and a design that would squeeze into Hawai'i's dry docks. Many environmental "firsts" were designed into the ferry, including zero wastewater discharge, nontoxic bottom paint and next-generation ultra-clean and efficient diesel engines.

Austal won our seven-month competitive bid process in late 2003 based on its proven vessel design and the capabilities of its new U.S. shipyard.

To address the military conspiracy theory — this was long before the company had any investors or Austal had U.S. military contracts: We did this on our own dime as entrepreneurs and mariners because we knew Hawai'i needed an affordable maritime transportation option to serve the need between flying and the barge.

Alakai is a catamaran — descendent of the double-hull voyaging canoes invented by Polynesians 1,500 years ago —because it is still the most energy-efficient ship form. She is smaller, faster and cleaner than the old interisland steamships, but the exhilaration you get on the deck watching the sun come up behind Diamond Head as you depart Honolulu is the same as it has been for hundreds of years. Alakai's departure from our waters for the time being is indeed sad for Hawai'i.

Timothy Dick is one of the founders of Hawaii Superferry and www.usehalf.org. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.