Consumer advocate sides with veteran Hawaii shipper Young Brothers over upstart Pasha

Veteran Hawaii shipper wins round over upstart

HONOLULU — Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines LLC has suffered a setback in its plans to challenge the monopoly Young Brothers Ltd. has on the interisland marine shipping business in Hawaii.

State consumer advocate Dean Nishina said in a Tuesday filing that Pasha has failed to prove its proposed service would be in the public interest.

Pasha General Manager Reggie Maldonado said Wednesday that the company is reviewing the consumer advocate’s filing.

Young Brothers has argued Pasha wants to “cherry pick” only high-volume, profitable routes and has no intention of serving smaller islands like Lanai and Molokai.

According to Young Brothers, revenue generated from serving the larger ports helps ensure frequent, regular service to small ports.