The state transportation department will try again to get a third party to remove the worn-down Falls of Clyde ship from Honolulu Harbor.
The Department of Transportation, in a recently published environmental assessment, said it plans to issue a request for proposal to attract contractors to remove the iron-hulled ship that’s been impounded at Honolulu’s Pier 7.
The Falls of Clyde used to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a National Historic Landmark, but in November it was delisted from the Hawaiʻi Register of Historic Places because of its degraded state.
The state has been trying to remove the derelict and partially flooded ship from the harbor for years.
Dre Kalili, deputy director of transportation for harbors, said the ship — which could collapse and sink — is a threat to harbor operations.
Kalili also said that the state wants to make repairs to the harbor, but it can’t if the Falls of Clyde isn’t moved.
“We'd like to restore the pier so that it can be used for maritime operations. Honolulu Harbor especially is a very congested port facility. Every birth space that we have is critically important to us. So we would like to resume maritime operations at Pier 7, but in order for us to do so, one, the vessel must be moved, and, two, the pier needs to be rebuilt,” Kalili said.
The transportation department has already tried attracting third parties to move the corroded and leaking ship. A Scotland-based group called Falls of Clyde International was previously chosen but the department said the group couldn't meet the conditions of the contract.
Kalili said that it has made the work easier for the next contractor, largely because the state conducted the environmental assessment this time around. During the last RFP, the contractors were responsible for conducting the assessment.
The DOT also considered sinking or dismantling the Falls of Clyde to remove it from the harbor. But it said there are regulatory issues in trying to sink the ship, while logistical issues make dismantling it a problem.
The ship is owned by the nonprofit Friends of Falls of Clyde, which hopes to someday restore the historic vessel.
Built in 1878, it has been docked at Pier 7 for free since 2008. The state impounded it in 2016.
