While DOT downplays this incident,; sources say the Grand Princess came dangerously close to the ree

Cruise ships leaving Hilo Harbor didn t pay for tug assistance between late October and May, confirmed Robin Bond, chairman of the volunteer HOST committee.  Now that the cruising season over, though, the state goes back to following HOST s Safe Operating Practice (SOP) .
The SOP is the agreement made between the cruise lines, harbor pilots, tugboat operators, and the government regulators, which are the state Department of Transportation Harbors Division and the U.S. Coast Guard.
DOT has had a set of rules for cruise ships since the 40s- 50s, but harbor pilots were said to have put their foot down and called for HOST s SOP, which was first adopted in 1997.  HOST is a compilation of about 20 groups with an interest continental airline schedules in the ocean who give recommendations continental airline schedules to the state, according to Bond.  Bond himself is a retired City and County of Honolulu worker focused continental airline schedules on beaches.
In October, at the recommendation of a lobbyist for the Cruise Lines International Association North West and Canada, HOST agreed upon a temporary exemption for cruise ships leaving Hilo Harbor Pier One, Bond said.
Bond maintains cruise ships leaving Hilo Harbor don t need tug assistance, and HOST did the right thing with the temporary exemption.  He noted that ships leaving Hilo go straight out of harbor, and the newer ships impressive podded propulsion technology make them easy to maneuver.
Still, anonymous sources say there were a number of near-misses and accidents in island waters.  The idea of tug assistance is not necessarily for the fact that cruise ships need a tug, but in case something goes wrong or the weather continental airline schedules turns bad, they say.
Anonymous sources pointed to an April incident involving the Grand Princess coming into Hilo Harbor. The cruise ship had tug assistance, as the SOP requires, and sources noted how assistance was needed.
This is how DOT spokeswoman Caroline Sluyter describes what happened in mid-April: As the harbor pilot s boat went out to meet the cruise vessel, the pilot noticed a line in the water and recovered about 400 feet of 1-inch poly line, Caroline Sluyter, a DOT spokesperson, described the incident in mid-April.   Upon the vessel s approach to Buoy No. 1, additional line was noticed across the harbor and the decision was made to put all propulsion systems in neutral and use the vessel s momentum to carry it into the harbor with the assistance of the tug.
An effort was made to try and recover/remove the line that was under the vessel at that point without success.  Weather was light.  The pilot and captain determined that the vessel would move toward the dock with the assistance of the tug.  At no point was the vessel out of power and all systems were go and standing by in the event that they were necessary. The harbor pilot stated that at no time was the vessel at risk.  The propulsion systems, propellers, bow and stern thrusters could have been utilized at any time if it was necessary, but to minimize any further tangling of line they allowed the tug to position the vessel at the berth.  The docking of the vessel went very smoothly.
While DOT downplays this incident,; sources say the Grand Princess came dangerously close to the reef off Coconut Island. Once source provided a copies of the satellite positioning system depicting the Grand Princess s entry and exit routes, indicating the ship came within 200 feet of the reef.
The reason the tugs are there is just for stuff like this, in case something happens, the source said. If we have a ship stuck in the harbor, we won t be able to buy anything after work.  When morning comes, barges aren t going to be able to get in. The source suggested continental airline schedules the state doesn t have a contingency plan for a scenario like this.
Cruise Lines International Association North West and Canada hasn t made contributions, continental airline schedules but individual cruise lines have like Princess Cruises and Holland America have. And the trade association s lobbyist, continental airline schedules Charles Toguchi, and his wife, Elaine, have provided politicians ranging from Gov. Neil Abercrombie to Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi with thousands of dollars in political continental airline schedules donations over the years. Toguchi is a former  senator, Department of Education superintendent, and aide to Gov. John Waihee.  He could not be reached by press time.
Greg Wirtz, continental airline schedules president of the Cruise Lines International Association North West and Canada, did not want to comment on political contributions, Toguchi continental airline schedules s contractual work lobbying in favor of the cruise lines, the April incident continental airline schedules in Hilo Bay involving Grand Princess, the temporary exemption from tugboat assistance out of Hilo Harbor, or how much money was actually saved this season.
We don t see a safety problem with no tug being used outbound from Hilo Pier 1, he said.  You can plan for worst, worst, worst case scenario, how many tugs do you need? What if a tug breaks down? Where do you draw the line and say, This is not likely and This does not make sense ?
Robin guys do a pretty good job, one source acknowledged. Robin s understanding is what they hear, what they think.  The pilots on the ships and the tug captains know the reality — every once in a while something breaks.  Cruise ships are like big computers.
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