PHOTO COURTESY YOUNG BROTHERS LLC
PHOTO COURTESY DHX
PHOTO COURTESY P&R WATER TAXI LLC
‘Maui, we are on our way’ Hawai‘i carriers deliver help and hope following the state’s deadliest natural disaster BY BRETT ALEXANDER-ESTES
From left: DHX assists with medical equipment at Kahului Airport; on Aug. 10, Young Brothers delivers an AT&T portable cell site to Maui; relief donations pile up at Pier 1 in early August following an online plea from P&R Water Taxi.
W ithin hours of learning of the devastation in Lāhainā, O‘ahu-based P&R Water Taxi posted this message Aug. 9 on Instagram: “ OSV Kahana II will be leaving for Kahului Harbor with relief items tomorrow afternoon. Anything you can spare, please come to Pier 1 to drop off your items (cloth - ing, sleeping bags, cots, blankets, human or pet food, anything).” By late afternoon Aug.10, donations filled seven P&R shipping containers. “The community was very supportive," says Sara Ibarra, P&R business manager. That evening, OSV Kahana II sailed for Kahului. “Maui, we are on our way,” P&R posted. “See you at sunrise.” Hawai‘i’s other carriers, echoing P&R’s promise, also rushed to Maui’s aid. Hawaiian Airlines helped evacuate more than 17,000
Hawaii Community Foundation Maui Strong Fund, says George W. Pasha IV, The Pasha Group president and CEO. “They are also working closely with several key commu - nity-based distribution hubs on Maui.” Wilfred "Junior" Robello, DHX-Dependable Hawaiian Express vice president of Hawai‘i operations, reports DHX was “granted permission by the Mayor’s Office to enter Lāhainā on Friday, Aug. 11, and made a delivery of grocery products to Times Supermarket, the only major supermarket not affected by the fire.” This allowed the store to open for the first time following the disaster. DHX also assisted with air freight
transport of medical equipment to the Maui Police Department from the emer- gency airlift zone at Kahului Airport. Chris Martin, Young Brothers LLC vice president of operations, says the carrier is dedicated to supporting relief efforts, and has been partnering with federal, state and county agencies to prioritize shipping critical goods — 20 containers of water to FEMA, MREs (meals, ready-to-
people from Maui during the first 72 hours of the wildfire response — and also carried in “more than 54,000 pounds of essential cargo ranging from life-saving blood and medical supplies to communications equip - ment and animal kennels,” says Pat Rosa, managing director of cargo at Hawaiian Airlines. Matson Inc.’s Haleakala barge sailed to
Wilfred "Junior" Robello
eat) and cargo from local organizations such as Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, Hawaiian Telcom Inc., Verizon, Kaiser Permanente and others. “Our hearts are with Maui,” says Young Brothers President Jay Ana. To donate: Hawaiian Airlines: www.hawaiianairlines.com/ malamamaui Matson: Matson.com/Community DHX-Dependable Hawaiian Express: Wilfred “Junior” Robello: (808) 877-2822 x1792
Pat Rosa
Kahului Harbor Aug. 10 with 160 containers of relief supplies. According to a press release that same day, Matson sched - uled one extra Maui sailing August 20 and “is considering additional sailings to Maui should they be needed.” Pasha Hawaii has activated its emergency response plan, and is prioritizing emergency rations, foodstuffs and medical supplies to Maui via available barge capacity and its direct vessel roll-on/roll-off service. The carrier has also donated $25,000 to the non-profit
From left: Boxes of sandwiches are loaded onto a Hawaiian Airlines flight to Kahului; the Kaholo , a Young Brothers barge, delivers Maui relief supplies at Kahului Harbor on Aug. 14; following a deployment to Maui, Honolulu Fire Department firefighters return to Honolulu in August.
PHOTO COURTESY HAWAIIAN AIRLINES
PHOTO COURTESY HAWAIIAN AIRLINES
PHOTO COURTESY YOUNG BROTHERS LLC
26 | BUILDING INDUSTRY HAWAII | OCTOBER 2023
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