An anti-cruise group succeeded in blocking - physically - a small ship from American Safari Cruises from docking at Kaunakakai Harbor, Molokai in Hawaii on Saturday morning. The local protesters, who don't like the fact that cruise ships - even though they are small - are coming to Molokai without any community input, blocked the ship's path with surfboards and small boats. The captain continued on to Lanai, the next port of call. The ship did return the next day, without any public announcement, and had docked by the time protesters arrived at the port.
ASC had called at the island twice before in recent weeks and was met by protesters on land, but their demonstrations were ineffective. Two more Molokai calls are scheduled in the next weeks.
Not everyone on Molokai is unhappy about the cruise calls, tour operators and other local businesses were extremely disappointed by Saturday's cancellation.
The incident does have unsettling overtones for the cruise industry in Hawaii, and we looked at the story from several sides - including where the protesters got the idea for blocking the ship's arrival - in the November 29, 2011, edition of Cruise News Daily.
