With Mokulele Grounded Again, Molokai Rallies Around Local Boat Captains

Photo by Kim Svetin

When news of Mokulele’s shutdown spread on Wednesday, Jan. 15 Molokai residents were alarmed, but somewhat prepared. After years of inconsistent flight service, suffuse with frustrating delays and surprise cancellations, residents have become unfortunately familiar with this sort of transportation crisis. Mokulele went through a similar shutdown period just this past August when issues found in routine maintenance inspection led to a company enforced grounding for several days.

Following Wednesday’s shutdown, the need to travel for critical medical appointments, work, student sports and more sent Molokai residents scrambling. Like a well-oiled machine, residents took to Facebook to organize transportation via boat. Local boat captains rose to the occasion, with many offering transportation to and from both Maui and Oahu.

One of the boat transportation efforts was undertaken by Tim Forsberg, owner of Molokai Fish and Dive. Rescheduling a whale watching tour, Forsberg was able to take over 40 passengers on the three-hour plus journey across the Ka’iwi Channel. The passengers included members of the girls Na Pua O Hina volleyball team and coaches, along with other Molokai community members.

Leaving Molokai early on Jan. 17, Forsberg explained that good weather made for a relatively quick trip back and forth of around three hours each way.

“I just did it as a curtesy,” said Forsberg. “It’s not like I want to get into the transportation business.”

Forsberg explained that coaches from the volleyball team had reached out as Mokulele was unable to give information as to the status of their flight. While Mokulele’s planes were grounded, the company chartered six planes on Thursday and 10 on Friday to help service some of their passengers. Mokulele said they were prioritizing passengers flying for medical appointments

“This was specifically to help [the volleyball team] out,” said Forsberg. “We’re a commercial vessel anyways, but this was non-commercial.”

When the Fish and Dive boat arrived in Oahu, they were able to offer transportation to those stranded on Oahu trying to get back to Molokai. Organized via Facebook, Forsberg said the message was casual: just meet the boat in harbor and catch a ride back.

This sort of arranged boat passage from local captains made a massive difference in allowing Molokai community members to get home or get off island.

Photo by Jack Kiyonaga

When passengers arrived at the Kaunakakai Wharf on Fish and Dive’s boat, many were emotional, gratified by the generosity of the boat service. Similar scenes played out across Molokai as boat captains ferried hundreds of community members to Maui and Oahu.

As of Jan. 19, Mokulele’s had yet to provide clear information as to the cause of the grounding, but according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) it was not an FAA enforced suspension of service, but rather a voluntary one from Mokulele.

In an email to The Dispatch, Louis St. Cyr, president of Hawaii operations for Mokulele, said
“we understand the impact of service adjustments on the Molokai community, which is why we’re working diligently to address the situation…We are prioritizing the medical community right now and we have chartered flights to support the community…We recognize our essential role in connecting Molokai residents and are focused on safely resuming regular service as quickly as possible.”

Beyond just Mokulele, Southern Airways, which is also owned by Surf Air Mobility, shut down many of its mainland flights. For Surf Air Mobility, which took over Mokulele and Southern Airways in 2023, the combined shutdowns seem to have taken a toll on the company’s financial standing. Their stock price has taken a major hit in the last several years, hitting $3.94 as of Jan. 17 after launching at $17.85 in July of 2023.

Mokulele was able to resume regular flight service as of Sunday, Jan. 19.