The first scheduled container ship service to Kahului Harbor is coming late next year. Santa Maria Shipping LLC said Monday it has contracted for two 8,500-ton container ships to be built in Alabama. Although 98 percent of Maui's imports come by sea, only a few oceangoing freighters call at Kahului.
Most traffic is containerized and moved by tug and barge.
Stas Margaronis, president of Santa Maria, says his firm will be able to compete for business by adopting efficient technology, providing faster, reliable and safer service. Also, he expects to be able to develop a business in Maui exports. Hawaii's economy is unbalanced, with much greater volumes of imports than exports. That means most containers go back to the Mainland empty, driving up costs. Maui has a significant volume of exports in canned pineapple.