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Young Brothers Reopens Facilities In Hilo After Safety Issue
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by Big Island Video News
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STORY SUMMARY

HILO, Hawaiʻi - In a social media message, the shipping company said the facilities at the Port of Hilo will be closed while they work to complete emergency repairs.

UPDATE – (4:50 p.m.) – The Young Brothers’ facility at the Port of Hilo reopened between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Tuesday. The company says the United States Coast Guard approved their mitigation plans to address the malfunction in the facility’s fire suppression system that forced a closure on Monday.

Young Brothers also offered the following operational updates:

  • Young Brothers says it is extending gate hours so customers can pick up cargo at the Port of Hilo now through 6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 12.
  • The company says it will offer special gate hours on Wednesday, December 13, from 6:30 to 11:30 a.m. for customers to pick up any remaining cargo.
  • Young Brothers’ says regulated sailing will continue as scheduled, departing Honolulu today, December 12 and set to arrive on Thursday, December 14. There are no changes to the Hilo sailing schedules at this time.

(BIVN) – ORIGINAL STORY – The Young Brothers’ facilities at the Port of Hilo are closed until further notice.

The interisland shipping company issued a “service alert” over social media on Tuesday, saying that “an issue was identified with the fire suppression system at our facilities” at the Port of Hilo” during a routine inspection conducted by the United States Coast Guard.

“In the interest of ensuring the safety of our employees and the community, our facilities at the Port of Hilo will be temporarily closed starting today, Dec. 12, 2023, and until further notice,” the Young Brothers alert stated. “We are currently coordinating with the DOT Harbors and the USCG to swiftly implement temporary mitigation measures, complete emergency repairs, and expedite the resumption of cargo acceptance and availability ASAP.”

In a later update, Young Brothers said they developed plans with the Hawaiʻi County Fire Department “to implement temporary mitigation measures to address the malfunction in our facilities’ fire suppression system. We also submitted these plans to the United States Coast Guard for review.”

“We hope to be able to resume operations and offer special gate hours for cargo availability at our facilities at the Port of Hilo as soon as possible,” the company stated.