Young Brothers LLC

Young Brothers (YB) is Hawai’s foremost interisland freight handling and transportation company. We serve individuals and businesses alike, moving goods by barge among the Hawaiian Islands. We are the only regularly scheduled common carrier authorized by the State of Hawaii to transport your goods over water from one island to another.

We can handle almost any shipment. Our fleet of eight barges has a combined capacity of over 60,000 tons, and our equipment can accommodate a range of capacity needs. From food and other refrigerated cargo, to building materials, equipment, and cars, we have a solution for every type of cargo.

We offer fast, frequent, and reliable service to the following ports: Nāwiliwili on Kauaʻi, Kahului on Maui, Kaunakakai on Molokaʻi, Kaumalapau on Lānaʻi, Honolulu on Oʻahu, and Hilo and Kawaihae on the Island of Hawai’i. Most routes are serviced at least twice a week by overnight sailings.

From reservation to pickup, our team of approximately 360 employees works day and night to move your goods quickly, securely, and seamlessly across the Hawaiian Islands. That’s what makes Young Brothers your neighbor island partner.

Young Brothers started more than a century ago, in the earliest days of the Territory of Hawaiʻi. Since that time, Hawaiʻi has seen many changes. One thing that’s remained is the need for a reliable and cost-effective way to transport goods between the islands.

Our history stretches back to the year 1900, when the brothers Herb and William Young boarded a San Francisco schooner bound for Honolulu. Growing up in a maritime family in San Diego, the brothers were comfortable around the ocean. Within a year, they had set up a small but growing “bumboat” business, ferrying passengers and provisions around Honolulu Harbor. A third brother Jack soon joined them in Hawaiʻi.

Young Brothers is your neighbor island partner for all of your shipping needs throughout the state of Hawaiʻi, with frequent, reliable, and affordable weekly service. From our hub at the Port of Honolulu, we offer twelve weekly roundtrip sailings to six neighbor island ports on all major Hawaiian Islands.

Cargo Types
We transport freight of all kinds, ranging from vehicles and containers, to less-than-container-loads (LCL) as small as a carton. We offer a wide array of equipment in various sizes to meet your shipping needs:

20-foot or 40-foot equipment
Dry containers
Temperature-controlled containers
Flatracks/Platforms for oversized cargo or vehicles
Vessels Available For Charter
Young Brothers also offers customers the freedom to charter whole vessels. For larger jobs and bulk cargo shipments, our barges and tugs are available for sailings within Hawaiʻi and to other destinations in the Pacific.

We offer the largest fleet of barges in the state, with dimensions ranging from 286 feet to 340 feet in length and 78 to 90 feet in width.

Please contact us for additional information about any of our services