OHA committee hears briefing on memorandum exploring electric "seaglider" interisland service

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Committee on Investments and Land Management received an informational briefing Jan. 8 on a memorandum of understanding with the Hawaii Sea Glider Initiative and Regent Craft Incorporated to explore whether electric "seaglider" vessels could serve interisland routes.

The memorandum, OHA Interim Director of Land Assets Lori Walker said, is exploratory: "we aren't committing any funding to this yet; we're committing to exploration." The briefing included a presentation from David Uchiyama of the Hawaii Sea Glider Initiative describing prototype tests, certification plans and potential service models.

Why it matters: presenters said the vehicles could add passenger, freight and emergency-response options between islands at lower operating cost than conventional vessels or aircraft, and could improve access for rural communities that currently lack reliable ferry service.

Regent Craft representatives described two vehicle types and testing status. The smaller Viceroy is a roughly 12-seat vehicle; the Monarch is described as a larger, roughly 100-seat design. Presenters said Regent’s team has moved from quarter-scale to full-scale…