Falls of Clyde

02/06/2020

As the new year began, the new piece of information we received was that David O’Neill of Save Falls of Clyde International has approached the Harbors Division asking them to work with his organization by contributing money to have a German company come to move the Falls of Clyde to Scotland. The logic is that by contributing money the State can save on the cost of removing the ship if they had to do it on their own. This does make sense and Friends of Falls of Clyde made the same request many months ago only to be told it could not be done. Friends of Falls of Clyde wrote to the Harbors Division decision makers supporting the Save Falls of Clyde International proposition as a reasonable one to meet their ultimate goal of removing the ship and the goal of those who recognize the historical importance of saving the ship.
We believe that local supporters will help with funding a return to Scotland once a firm date is made for the trip home.

01/01/2020

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.

11/16/2019

1 October-15 November 2019
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.

10/05/2019

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.

09/02/2019

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.

08/05/2019

Our contact with the State oversight offices did get us responses from Harbors Division. Unfortunately the reply to our March 12 letter was not answers to the issues we raised, but only a comment...

03/11/2019

The current situation is that Harbors Division has asked us to remove property from the ship that we consider personal property, which we interpret as including many of the historic artifacts and documents that must be preserved. We will need storage space to preserve what we remove from the ship. They have also asked us to remove our lock from the gate that gives them total control over access to the pier and ship.
We believe we still have rights as legal owner and are seeking legal advice to counter the steps Harbors Division is taking.

01/31/2019

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/01/31/repairs-underway-after-historic-ship-honolulu-harbor-starts-taking-water/

The Falls of Clyde is the last four-masted, iron-hulled sailing oil tanker in the world.

01/18/2019

The Friends of Falls of Clyde (FoFOC) have learned that plans have fallen through to relocate the history Falls of Clyde ship to it original home in Scotland. Save the Falls of Clyde – International, the group endeavoring to move the historic ship from Hawaii back to Scotland for restoration, has cancelled the February 2019 move, citing that they are not yet ready.

“We were taken by surprise by this decision but remain hopeful that the Falls of Clyde – International’s efforts can get back on track,” said Bruce McEwan, president of the Friends of Falls of Clyde. “Our concern is that time is running out, as the State DOT-Harbors Division has given a February 6, 2019 deadline to remove the ship.”

08/02/2018

As we continue to prepare for the ship’s return to Scotland, we are excited about what we are finding as we find storage space for loose items. It seems that Falls of Clyde feels it’s time to...

07/09/2018

FFOC continues to work to prepare the ship for her trip to Scotland. There are many little things to do. We want the move to go smoothly. David O'Neill of Save Falls of Clyde International has sent...

05/17/2018

We just had a meeting with the Harbors Division folks to update them on David O’Neill’s progress. They were pleased with his progress and want to work with all of us on the moving details when they become available. There is a plan underway to have a big event to celebrate the Falls of Clyde return to Scotland, where she will be restored and recognized for the important maritime artefact that she is.