We, the undersigned residents of Hawaii Island, support increasing harbor safety in Hilo & all ports of Hawaii island by requiring that Northwest & Canada Cruise Association (NCCA) vessels, entering & departing Hilo harbor be required to use tug assistance. We support this because NCCA cruise ships have increased their use of Hilo harbor by 30% in the last 3 years while lobbying to have our safety requirements for tug use (on departure) done away with. Vessel “incident logs” for Hilo verify that there have been numerous ‘near misses,’ mechanical failures, and weather related problems that have resulted in cruise ships being unable to maneuver safely in our harbor. Hawaii island residents rely on our harbors to deliver our food, medicines, goods, building & agricultural materials. We demand that the State Department of Transportation, the Coast Guard HOST Group and Governor Abercrombie come to Hilo for a public meeting on these issues.

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