The state has awarded an $842,000 contract to salvage one grounded boat and is considering a large fine against the owner of another — part of a year that saw an unusual number of vessels get stuck on the shorelines of Maui County.
The two large vessels that went aground off the South Maui shore last week brought the number of grounded boats to 15 over the past year, and that does not include the 80 or so boats that were damaged or sunk in the Lahaina wildfire.
Officials said the biggest contributing factor to the groundings over the past year were powerful storms packing winds of 50 miles per hour or more.
“Every time there are high winds, we are dealing with groundings throughout the state,” said Meghan Statts, assistant administrator of the state Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.
State officials said foul weather contributed to the latest Maui groundings: a former Navy torpedo boat that broke loose from its mooring and wound up on Sugar Beach next to a condominium building in North Kihei, and the Expeditions Lanai-Maui ferry that went aground near Maalaea Boat Harbor after its captain apparently missed channel markers.
On Friday, DOBOR awarded an $841,820 contract to Sea Engineering Inc. to salvage the former torpedo boat Chaparral.
The division originally went out to bid thinking the job would be a relatively simple salvage job. But it ended up soliciting new emergency bids to ensure that a contractor has the capability of safely securing any hazardous contents in the boat.
The contractor will be required to protect both the land and ocean environment by, among other things, setting up silk screens to keep dust from affecting the surrounding land and water, and booms surrounding the boat to protect the marine ecosystem.
The boat will not be towed out to sea, but cut up where it is because of the numerous holes discovered in its hull.
DOBOR staff members were unavailable to speak to a reporter Monday afternoon, but Land Board Chair Dawn Chang was quoted in a news release:
“We do understand that members of the community don’t want it disposed of there because it’s adjacent to a beach park that’s heavily used by canoe paddlers and others. However, dragging this boat over a shallow reef could be much more detrimental to our natural resources. Or it could sink. There are too many variables trying to tow it versus cutting it in place.”
DOBOR Administrator Ed Underwood told the Department of Land and Natural Resources communications staff that the owner of the torpedo boat ultimately will be held responsible for the grounding.
But, in the interim, DOBOR’s boating special fund, underwritten by user fees, will pick up the tab.
”Unfortunately, the salvage of the Chaparral will completely deplete that fund, so we’re really hoping there are no more groundings until it is restored,” Underwood said.
The other recent vessel that grounded on Maui was one of the Expeditions ferry boats, which transports passengers between Lanai and Maui.
The boat was pulled off the rocks Saturday morning and was expected to be towed to Honolulu for repairs, according to the operator. The grounding has not affected its interisland service, the operator told state officials, as it has other vessels.
On Monday another boat ran around, this time at Pier 16 in Honolulu Harbor.
The state Department of Transportation reported that the fishing vessel Lady Anna hit the Nuuanu Stream Bridge along Nimitz Highway, causing damage to one section of the fence and bridge railing.
The vessel was successfully refloated, towed and berthed in the harbor, DOT said. The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the incident.
Meanwhile, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday deferred the matter of another grounding, the one involving the luxury yacht Nakoa in February.
In July, BLNR reached a tentative settlement agreement with the owners of the Nakoa for $117,471.97 for the damage to stony coral and live rock that occurred when the luxury yacht grounded outside the Honolua-Mokule‘ia Bay Marine Life Conservation District on Maui.
Because the yacht’s owners — Jim Jones, Noelani Yacht Charters LLC, Kevin and Kimberly Albert, and the Albert Revocable Trust — have yet to pay any of the settlement amount, the Division of Aquatic Resources brought the matter back to the board.
After hearing from community members Friday, the board agreed to defer the matter until after the department holds a community meeting in West Maui.
State Sen. Angus McKelvey (D, West Maui-Maalaea-South Maui) was among those who urged the board to impose the maximum penalty on the owners.
Following July’s BLNR meeting, the Alberts and their trust reached a tentative agreement in which they would pay the settlement amount for damage to natural resources, the restoration of those resources and the cost of the DLNR investigation.
In turn, the board agreed to release them from liability from any future claims by the state linked to the Feb. 20 incident. BLNR, however, reserved its right to assess fines and penalties against Jones and Noelani Yacht Charters at a later date.
The Nakoa broke loose from its mooring and grounded on the rocky shoreline between Honolua Bay and Lipoa Point, leading to weeks of preparation for salvage operations. In the end a salvage team determined the vessel could not be saved, and it was scuttled in 800 feet of water.
Damage assessments found that nearly 2,000 square yards of live rock were damaged and at least 119 living coral colonies were damaged or destroyed.
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