There is also a growing and viable initiative going on in Scotland to return the ship home to Glasgow. Saving and preserving Falls of Clyde is the most important goal of Friends of Falls of Clyde. If the Harbors Division is determined to have her removed from Honolulu Harbor, Scotland will be the perfect home. Obviously many moving parts need to come together to make this a reality, but we believe bringing her life full circle is a story that will resonate with people worldwide and ensure success.
We also took the opportunity to challenge the Decision & Order by the hearing officer on the impoundment. We set forth some legal and procedural issues and are looking forward to the next hearing now set for November 22.
This is the most positive situation we’ve had in the past year and a half of dealing with the stress we’ve felt from the actions of the Harbors Division. Perhaps cooperation is a possibility now.
.
Darrell T. Young, Deputy Director
Davis Yogi, Harbors Administrator
Dept. of Transportation, Harbors Division
79 S. Nimitz Hwy.
Honolulu, HI 9613-4898
Subject: Falls of Clyde Status
Dear Mr. Young and Mr. Yogi:
The condition survey conducted on Falls of Clyde on October 11, 2016 by the JMS Naval Architect is attached for your files. As you can see from the report, there has been effectively no change since the 2013 survey, which we provided and was satisfactory to our insurance underwriters. As is clearly stated in the Executive Summary to the survey, the ship is not a safety hazard as we have continually communicated to the Harbors Division. If there are any questions regarding the state of the ship, you are free to contact Mr. Forrest directly.
I believe that you are aware that there is now an active initiative in Scotland to return Falls of Clyde to her original home port. Friends of Falls of Clyde supports this effort, which is consistent with our Option 1 in the plan we submitted to the Harbors Division on July 29, 2016. This shows that there is support internationally for the preservation of this historic maritime landmark. We believe that local cooperation in helping to make this work will be a positive step to bolster our reputation on historic preservation, which is currently tarnished because of the actions taken to date.
Friends of Falls of Clyde respectfully requests that impoundment be retracted and a new revocable permit be issued. We are willing to discuss a reasonable berthing fee as a non-profit organization. Our plan going forward will be to work with our Scottish supporters to move the ship in 2017.
Sincerely
Bruce McEwan, President