​Although there has been no significant activity this month, September has been an important month. It was September 2008 when Friends of Falls of Clyde acquired ownership of Falls of Clyde from Bishop Museum.
September 2017 was the first month that a heavy lift ship was to pick up Falls of Clyde to take her to Scotland, which unfortunately never happened. September 2018 was the deadline agreed to with Harbors Division that Save Falls of Clyde International was to arrange for Falls of Clyde to be to be picked up for its journey to Scotland and again this did not occur.
September 2019 was another silent month from Save Falls of Clyde International. However, FFOC did hear about a possible source for moving Falls of Clyde to the West Coast. It is a longshot, but we must pursue any option that could materialize to save our beloved ship. 

​Unfortunately, we have nothing substantive to report this month. There has been no update from Save Falls of Clyde International. The board of FFOC is open to any suggestions about how we can meet Harbors Division’s requirement to remove the Falls of Clyde from Honolulu Harbor. The weather has been good so Harbors Division has not taken steps to push the removal.
For some reason, the question of ownership has come up. Friends of Falls of Clyde is the legal owner, although Harbors Division has control due to the impoundment. However, they have given us clear steps to get release of the ship to Friends of Falls of Clyde:

1. The identification of local 24-hour contacts for both Friends of Falls of Clyde and the heavy-lift ship who are authorized to speak for and act on behalf of the two vessels;
2. Arrival of a designated heavy-lift ship to Honolulu Harbor;
3. Compliance by Friends of Falls of Clyde and the captain and crew of the heavy-lift ship with U.S. Coast Guard guidance on ship movements within Sector Honolulu; and.
4. Compliance by the Friends of Falls of Clyde with all applicable federal and state laws.

We can meet these requirements and are prepared to work with Save Falls of Clyde International to coordinate with the heavy-lift ship or alternate carrier that they put under contract.
 
 

We have asked Harbors if we can move Falls of Clyde to the Diamond Head side of Pier 7 after Kulamanu is moved to give us a more solid area to move things on and off the ship.
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Also, we are working with Save Falls of Clyde International to provide information so that a schedule can be set for repatriating Falls of Clyde.

.There is nothing material to report and we feel like we are in a state of limbo. The Harbors Division has still not responded to the questions we have asked nor has Save Falls of Clyde International been able to finalize the contract with a heavy lift company to move the ship. We continue to hope for the best, but time is running out for the Scotland Plan to be successful.

After receiving a notice to remove the rest of our property, including historic documents, from the ship and to remove our lock from the Pier 7 gate, we sent a letter to Deputy Director Chow addressing the following issues:

1. Reaffirming our challenge to the auction and pointing out that the requirement for the $1.5 million performance bond effectively undermined their own auction process.
2. Asserting that our rights as owner are being violated by not allowing us regular ship access to conduct our monthly maintenance checks.
3. Asking for Harbors Division to confirm that they are aware of and have taken steps to meet all Federal and State requirements related to any proposed negative action toward a National Historic Landmark.
4. Asking for information related to their cost to remove the ship from the harbor as this would be expenditure of public funds.
5. We also advised that we are seeking legal advice on protecting pour ownership rights.

We have asked for complete answers to our issues.
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We waited patiently for the result of the auction. Only three parties attended the February 15 “open house” and only one person was not affiliated with the local Falls of Clyde supporters. On February 28, no qualified bidders had come in. The requirement for a $1.5 million performance bond was impossible for any party to acquire, which made the whole auction moot. This has now pushed the Harbors Division into their other options, which are to negotiate a sale, transfer the ship to another government organization, or remove and destroy the ship. Friends of Falls of Clyde is looking into legal options to forestall the last option. We fully believe that the Harbors Division should negotiate with Save Falls of Clyde International to achieve the repatriation to Scotland. Friends of Falls of Clyde is committed to maintaining the safety of the ship until she can be removed from the harbor and repatriated to Scotland. 
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The cancellation set the stage for a very stressful month and the deadline to move the ship set by Harbors Division as February 6, 2019.
Falls of Clyde began to ride low in the stern and a small hole was discovered, which was quickly patched and ballast moved in the tanks to raise the stern. Within two weeks she began to list abnormally to port. Investigation discovered a hole on the port three tank. FFOC brought in a contractor to repair the hole and again ballast was readjusted to get the ship back in trim. Finally, as the month came to a close, the ship took on water in the bow through some rusted areas and Harbors and the Coast Guard declared an emergency and brought in contractors to pump out water and patch the leaking areas. FFOC brought in a contractor to remove ballast in order to bring the ship up higher to move the water line above the leaking areas. Tens of thousands of gallons of water were removed and the ship is now back in stable condition. However, Harbors Division now considers that a state of emergency is ongoing, which means they have an urgency to move the ship for what they consider the safety of the harbor.
While this was going on, FFOC was working with Senator Hirono’s Chief of Staff to see if Falls of Clyde could be moved temporarily to Pearl Harbor until the Scotland move occurred. The problems cited above basically made this option no longer feasible.
Friends of Falls of Clyde board members met with Harbors administrators on February 1 as a post assessment following the emergency. Also attending was the local representative of Save Falls of Clyde International, whose input on the status of the repatriation to Scotland is at a critical juncture. It was reported that a substantial grant is pending that Save Falls of Clyde International may receive. We were also told that Sevenstar Yacht Transport is still interested in moving the ship back to Scotland, but it will be a couple of months to get scheduled. The Harbors administrators laid out three terms that must be met in order to reconsider the auction: Save Falls of Clyde International must have a signed and paid for contract with a carrier, a firm date for the move must be set before hurricane season begins June 1, and a plan to safely maintain Falls of Clyde until the move must be provided. Friends of Falls of Clyde is committed to comply with the third requirement. While there is some optimism that all will come together, time is short.