RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the harbors at Honolulu, Nawiliwili, Lahaina, Kahului, Kona, and Hilo each act as a port facility for passenger cruise ships as well as for cargo ships; and

WHEREAS, the State's only international cargo shipping terminal, on Oahu at Pier 1, handled more than fifteen thousand containers in 2004 and could reach its capacity by the end of 2005; and

WHEREAS, the adjacent Pier 2 has been targeted for a $30,000,000 upgrade to handle the growing number of cruise ships plying the waters of the State that require dock facilities; and

WHEREAS, the State recognizes that there will always be a dual demand in the foreseeable future for cargo as well as passenger port facilities at all of the State's harbors; and

WHEREAS, however, each state harbor currently handles its own ship movement scheduling and there is no centralized system coordinating ship departures and arrivals statewide; and

WHEREAS, with current technology and minimal staffing, it is certainly possible for such a statewide system to be established and operated in order to facilitate and coordinate the increasing demands on the use of harbor facilities by both cargo and passenger ships; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Transportation is requested to establish a centralized statewide cargo and passenger ship arrival and departure scheduling system to coordinate and improve the efficiency of ship movements among the harbors of the State; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Directors of Transportation and Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, and the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

Report Title:

Centralized Statewide Shipping Scheduling System; DOT to Create