Hawaii Superferry
 

http://www.hawaiisuperferry.com/

The ferry is due to be launched in Mobile this Thursday and is expected to start service in the islands in July and will connect Kauai, Oahu and Maui. Expect heavy opposition from environmentalists.
Ticket prices are said to be "as little as $42 for one way passengers".
From the Mobile Press Register January 14 2007

Also expect about a 3 hr. ride per Hawaii magazine.

There are many concerns about the Superferry. 1- Is is going to harm the whales? 2- Kahalui harbor in Maui may not be big enough for it, 3-It is very costly for locals, and very inefficient. 4- There is a great deal of resistance from locals.

I really doubt it would harm the whales. There are all sorts of ferries and tour boats in Alaska and I don't think the whales have ever been harmed.

There are multiple whale-boat accidents in Hawaii each year, usually fatal to the whales. Alaska statistics do not apply to Hawaii, where the mothers and newly-born calves are at surface levels. They are very vulnerable to boat traffic. Alaska is not a calving ground, and most of their feeding is farther off shore.