Young Brothers Requests Route Rollback to Big Island, Maui

Young Brothers says routes will be scaled back, but essential supplies will continue to flow into Hawaii in conjunction with demand.

Young Brothers has requested route adjustments to Hawai‘i and Maui Counties starting May 5, 2020.

The company put in the request with the Public Utilities Commission Saturday, saying the route cuts would be temporary, as would changes to operating hours at all ports across Hawai‘i including Honolulu, Nāwiliwili, Kahului, Kaumalapau, Kaunakakai, Kawaihae and Hilo. All other county sailing schedules will not be affected.

The requests stem from “a steep decline in cargo volumes” because of the coronavirus pandemic. Young Brothers said essential services will not be interrupted.

“These requested temporary adjustments to our sailing schedule will be optimized to utilize the excess capacity on our barges bound for Maui, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i and Hilo to help ensure that shelves are stocked and our communities are served with steady, reliable inter-island cargo service,” said Keith Kiyotoki, sales and marketing manager at Young Brothers.

As indicated in the schedule, YB may supplement service from Moloka‘i as needed with an occasional stopover on Wednesday morning as the Kawaihae barge returns to the port of Honolulu. The service is intended to facilitate the timely transport of fresh produce from Moloka‘i to the neighboring islands and support the farming and agriculture industries, a YB press release said.

The occasional Kawaihae/Kaunakakai stopover will allow fresh produce from Moloka‘i to reach the neighbor-island markets.

To view YB’s updated sailing schedule for the two counties, click here.

In conjunction with the amended sailing schedule, all ports will convert one or two days of regular gate hours, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., to half-day operations, 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Click here to view Young Brothers’ updated gate hours at the ports of Honolulu, Nāwiliwili, Kahului, Kaumalapau, Kaunakakai, Kawaihae, and Hilo.

To view YB’s updated hours, click here.

Uninterrupted deliveries will continue across the state. There is no need to fear essential supply shortages or begin hoarding.