<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">A Hawai'i firm planning to start an interisland ferry service within three years has signed an agreement to buy two newly built 900-passenger, 280-vehicle vessels for the service, officials said yesterday.

Hawaii Superferry said yesterday it hopes to have the first of the four-story high, 340-foot-long catamarans carrying passengers, vehicles and freight between O'ahu, Kaua'i, Maui and the Big Island beginning in 2006.

The high-speed ferries, costing about $75 million each, would be built in Alabama in a joint venture with an Australian firm that specializes in designing and constructing ocean-going vessels that have enough speed and stability to ensure passenger comfort, Superferry officials said.</font>