When Norwegian Cruise Line gained the right to exclusively sail interisland cruises in Hawai'i three years ago, the company and politicians proclaimed Hawai'i would eventually gain about 3,000 on-board jobs.

The cruise line has exceeded those expectations, now employing about 4,000 crew members for three ships here. But only about 10 percent of the workers are from Hawai'i.

Just four months ago, Hawai'i residents made up almost 30 percent of the crew.

"It's gone down because of the addition of another ship, another 1,000 employees," said Robert Kritzman, executive vice president and managing director of Norwegian subsidiary NCL America's Hawai'i operations. "We had to do a lot of recruiting on the Mainland to be able to meet the numbers that we need."

NCL added a third ship, the Pride of Hawai'i, to its Hawai'i fleet in June.

Kritzman says the company is taking steps to find more Hawai'i residents, including job fairs and programs with the state Department of Education and local community colleges.

Hawai'i "still is the largest single state for the number of crew," Kritzman said. "It's just simply that it's challenging for employers throughout the state right now. It's just a tough market at the moment."

Hawai'i's congressional delegation pushed for a 2003 federal exemption that allowed NCL to sail foreign-built ships under a U.S. flag in Hawai'i, in part because the ships would boost employment. The lawmakers said they were disappointed to learn only 10 percent of the crew is from Hawai'i.

"We clearly would like there to be a higher percentage of Hawai'i workers," said Jennifer Sabas, U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye's chief of staff in Hawai'i. "I think when (NCL) worked on their plans and put their best effort forward, they clearly, as well, were intending for a much higher percentage. ... Unfortunately for NCL, it hasn't panned out yet. But we would continue to encourage them and work with them to come up with as many strategies to improve that number."

"I'm disappointed," added U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie. "It's not for a lack of effort on their part. It's very difficult because of the requirement for folks to be away from home at night."

Recruiting and retaining workers has been a challenge from the start for NCL America, which must employ U.S. workers and follow U.S. labor laws. The federal exemption allowing NCL to cruise the Islands without stopping at a foreign port came with the requirement that at least 75 percent of its crew be U.S. citizens, with the remaining 25 percent permanent U.S. residents or green-card holders. Kritzman said about 8 percent of the crew for the three ships are green-card holders.

Finding American workers willing to work on a ship for months at a time is difficult. And with Hawai'i's low unemployment rate — 3 percent in July — NCL America has been competing with hundreds of other employers statewide for scarce workers.

Kritzman declined to say what the crew's turnover rate is, but said "it's comparable to the hospitality industry."

He said NCL America is still "over-recruiting to make sure that we don't have any shortfalls. We really don't know what the ongoing needs will be until we have a chance to see how the ships are after being in service for awhile."

NCL America launched its first ship, the Pride of Aloha, in summer 2004. The company added the Pride of America last year.

Hawai'i Tourism Authority president and CEO Rex Johnson said he's not surprised by the lower numbers, particularly given the state's low unemployment rate and the fact that workers live aboard the ship for long periods of time.

In all, NCL's ships are important for Hawai'i's No. 1 industry, Johnson said.

"It's really a great product for us to have. It's one more arrow in the quiver," he said. "It's a new industry, at least on this scale for us, but we're very happy that they're here. And it just adds to some of the things that Hawai'i can do from a product standpoint."

NCL America is committed to hiring more employees from Hawai'i and plans more job fairs here soon, Kritzman said.

"The guests are here to experience Hawai'i," Kritzman said. "We think that it's an even better experience for them if they are surrounded by people who understand Hawai'i and the culture, and who are from Hawai'i."

Plus, "it simply makes sense to recruit here locally for people who ... can see their family while their ships are in port."

The company recently hired a new director of human resources in Hawai'i, CharlAnn Nakamoto, filling a spot that had been vacant for a few months, Kritzman said.

"She's ramping up our local recruitment now, and so we certainly will continue to work here and work on recruitment here," Kritzman said. "Also, the programs that we have with the schools we hope will help our local recruitment."

NCL America started a pilot program this month with public middle schools and high schools on Maui.

NCL is also working with Kapi'olani Community College to create a curriculum for students interested in the cruise industry, Kritzman said. The company is also discussing with KCC plans to move at least some employee training here.

Employees now undergo a four-week training program at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md.

Moving more training here would be welcomed by Abercrombie and Inouye, and Sabas said Inouye is looking at getting federal funding for training here.

"We are in some very specific conversations with KCC and Leeward (Community College) about figuring out some partnerships ... with the cruise line, whether it's developing the curriculum or ... taking the curriculum from Maryland and making it work for us here," Sabas said.

NCL is also looking into having some on-board jobs, like housekeeping and engine maintenance, filled from shoreside positions. That would allow those employees to work aboard the ship and return home every day, which would likely make the work more appealing for Hawai'i residents.

Kritzman said some housekeeping positions are now temporarily filled by shoreside employees who are awaiting their merchant mariner documents.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.