The state is moving forward with plans to remove the historic vessel Falls of Clyde from Honolulu Harbor. Public comments on the ship's fate ended this week.
The Conversation talked to Bruce McEwan, the president of The Friends of Falls of Clyde, whose mission is to preserve and restore the iron-hulled ship. They filed testimony to set the record straight as the ship's owners.
A group in Scotland, Falls of Clyde International, would like to see the ship return to Glasgow. McEwan laments the process and lack of communication with the Historic Preservation Division within the state Department of Land and Natural Resources in this latest go-around.
The ship was delisted from the Hawaiʻi Register of Historic Places last November and an environmental review on its removal is underway.
McEwan said the state was not forthcoming about its plans to delist Falls of Clyde. He said they were supposed to receive a 45-day notice by mail, but it never came. Only after the state passed the resolution delisting the ship did McEwan receive notice in the mail, he said.
The letter appears to have been delayed, but McEwan wondered why no one followed up.
"They knew we were interested in being part of the decision-making," he said.
His organization maintains the Department of Transportation under the previous administration should accept responsibility for the state of the vessel since it halted the group from boarding the ship to continue preservation efforts.
McEwan warned that while state officials indicate a preference to dismantle the ship at the pier, the structure may not be sound enough to handle the iron hulls of the vessel.
The state plans to solicit bids in the first quarter of this year. Whether the work can be done before hurricane season, which starts in June, is another question.
McEwan said he’s holding out hope that the ship can be safely returned to Scotland.
Built in 1878, Falls of Clyde has been docked at Pier 7 for free since 2008. The state impounded it in 2016.
This story aired on The Conversation on Jan. 25, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
