Norwegian Cruise Line's presence in Hawai'i has gotten even smaller after the company eliminated five positions in its local office, including the top executive here.

Officials confirmed yesterday that Alan Yamamoto, vice president of Hawai'i operations, completed his last day of work with the company on Wednesday.

"NCL Corporation has completed the consolidation of its operations in Hawai'i, following the withdrawal of two ships from the market," the company said in a written statement.

At one point, the company had three ships operating under American flags and calling weekly at ports within the state. But the dropping price of cruises and increased competition from foreign-flagged ships prompted the company to pull two vessels: the Pride of Hawaii, which departed in February, and the Pride of Aloha, which left in mid-May.

"As a result, the company has made some additional personnel reductions in NCL America's Honolulu office, eliminating five positions," which leaves an office with a staff cut nearly in half, to six.

"The majority of NCL America's operations will now be handled from the company's headquarters in Miami, although a small core team remains in Honolulu," the statement said.

Earlier this month, Miami-based NCL Corp. — the parent company of NCL America — announced that CEO Colin Veitch had been replaced by Kevin Sheehan. Sheehan was president and chief financial officer and will remain president.

Veitch, who became CEO when Star Cruises bought NCL in 2000, will remain with the company as an adviser to the board.

For the third quarter ended Sept. 30, the company reported net income of $171.2 million on revenue of $639 million, compared with a loss of $8.6 million on revenue of $632.5 million for the same period in 2007.

That report indicated the Hawai'i operation is now profitable.

"The company is extremely pleased with the performance of Pride of America and remains committed to operating seven-day inter-island cruises in Hawai'i," the company said.