As the year draws to an end, the fate of Falls of Clyde still hangs in the balance. Friends of Falls of Clyde tried to help out Save Falls of Clyde International by asking Harbors Division to remove the bond requirement which no organization could meet. We also asked to be kept in the communication loop with regard to their actions, but received no response at all. As previously reported, Harbors also denied access to the ship to celebrate her 141st birthday. Finally, in the latest edition of Honolulu Magazine,  Falls of Clyde and FFOC were mentioned in their annual “Sour Poi Awards: The Best of the Worst.” Basically they lamented our situation and reiterated the long-time mantra of Harbors Division that the ship is a safety hazard.
 
As we enter 2020, we continue to believe that Falls of Clyde must and will be saved. 

The good news during this period is that we learned that direct communication has been set up between Save Falls of Clyde International (SFOCI) and the Harbors Division. SFOCI is still progressing in getting support for the future of Falls of Clyde, but the arrangements to remove the ship from Honolulu Harbor have still not come together. Apparently the new deadline is sometime in December 2019. We noted that the Harbors Division is still requiring a $1.5 million performance bond as part of the project to move the ship. That requirement resulted in the failure of Harbor’s auction process. Because FFOC has insurance underwriting expertise on the board, we contacted the leadership at the Harbors Division, pointed out that the bond requirement could never be met, and asked that they remove that requirement and work with SFOCI to come to reasonable terms to meet what should be a mutual goal. 

​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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