The options for the historic vessel Falls of Clyde have been laid out on the table — and its future isn't looking bright.
The ship has already been delisted from the state and national registers of historic places, and a Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation environmental assessment on its removal was released this month.
The assessment evaluated several scenarios including dismantling the ship at a dry dock or in place, sinking it in the ocean, or transferring ownership to a third party that will haul it away after making repairs.
"There are some other issues that we are working through including, you know, there being some artifacts that remain on board. And should the request for proposals yield a contract to someone who's going to dismantle it, we want to make sure that the artifacts are cared for and removed properly," said Dre Kalili, the DOT deputy director for the Harbors Division.
"However, if the outcome of the contracting process is the vessel is repatriated to Scotland or just taken to another port somewhere, you know, those artifacts very well could remain on board," she said. The department hopes to solicit bids by the end of the summer.
For the last decade and a half, the nonprofit Friends of Falls of Clyde has worked to restore the ship and one day return it to Scotland. The organization took possession after Bishop Museum abandoned ownership and closed the maritime museum at the dock.
The 19th-century, iron-hulled sailing ship has been docked at Honolulu Harbor for free since 2008. The state impounded it in 2016.
The Conversation talked to Bruce McEwan about the group's concerns with the final environmental assessment. He said he wanted the state to acknowledge its part in the current situation.
"My biggest problem with the way that the EA is written is the fact that it makes some, in my biased opinion, some unfounded comments about the failure of the ship to be maintained over the years without mentioning anywhere in the EA the role that the Harbors Division played in undercutting the plans of the Friends of Falls of Clyde," McEwan said. "Had they been supportive of us like they were back in 2008 when we took possession of the ship, none of this would have happened."
When asked about recovering the remaining artifacts from the ship, McEwan said that would be premature without knowing the ship's future. He said that if the ship is removed, he hopes the artifacts will go to a museum, or that some area at Honolulu Harbor will commemorate the ship's history.
Meanwhile, the state is negotiating a long-term lease for the old maritime museum property with a Seattle company. Details about that proposal and cost analysis of the substructure are expected soon.
How did we get here? Take a look at past HPR coverage:
This interview aired on The Conversation on June 10, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. Sophia McCullough adapted this story for the web.
