KAPALUA, Maui — Salvage work of a luxury yacht that ran aground in Honolua Bay in northwest Maui will resume on Monday after more than a dozen "pulls" were attempted on Sunday, the Department of Land and Natural Resources said.
After dark, the final pull managed to move the vessel, which has been grounded since Feb. 20, about 10 to 20 feet.
"It's estimated another 20-30 feet of movement seaward will be needed before the yacht is clear of the rocky coastline," the DLNR said.
On Saturday, officials defueled the vessel, which has been grounded outside the Honolua-Mokuleia Marine Life Conservation District.
The dirt road at Lipoa Point will remain closed until salvage operations have concluded.
The U.S. Coast Guard assumed responsibility for the salvage operation to try to remove some 470 gallons of petroleum products, including diesel fuel, and other hazardous substances off the yacht.
“For the last five days we’ve been working with the contractors from Sea Engineering and Pacific Helicopters, starting with getting on the vessel and putting absorbent materials down to collect any free petroleum products," said Chief David Jones, of the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Honolulu. "Then for the last three days we’ve had the flight operations. Folks on deck pumped any fuel, oils, and other materials out of tanks and machinery spaces into the barrels, where they were airlifted to land to be hauled off for proper disposal.”
The yacht's owner Jim Jones told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser last week that seawater entered the engine room of the 94-foot yacht, which made the ship's bilges pump out diesel fuel. He said “not a lot” got in the water and the pumps have been turned off.
“Once we found out the fuel was coming out, we turned it over to the Coast Guard,” Jones said.
The Coast Guard brought in the salvage company Sea Engineering to remove the fuel and vessel, the company's president, Andrew Rocheleau, said.
Once all fuel and pollutants are removed, the Nakoa will be released to its owner. Then, the owner must provide an acceptable salvage plan to the DLNR. If the agency doesn’t find the plan satisfactory, the state will remove the yacht and the owner will be responsible for the cost of the salvage operation.
The yacht ran aground Monday morning in Honolua Bay after its mooring line snapped.
The vessel is stuck on the rocks near where surfers paddle out to surf. It's about 700 feet outside the state's Honolua-Mokuleia Bay Marine Life Conservation District.
According to the DLNR release, a team from its Division of Aquatic Resources conducted an underwater assessment of the area’s coral reefs and live rocks. “Divers noted an estimated 30 coral and live rock that were damaged, but will need to return to do a more thorough assessment once the vessel is removed.” It said that the owner may face “significant penalties” as corals and live rock are protected by state law.
Other fines may be levied via DLNR’s Boating and Ocean Division and DOCARE once the investigations are completed.
“We understand everyone’s frustration with the grounding and harm to the reef at Honolua, a bay with abundant marine life that’s loved by many residents of Maui and visitors like,” said DLNR First Deputy Laura Kaakua. “Wednesday, the focus will be defueling the vessel, and then we can turn to efficient removal with the least additional damage possible.”
The Nakoa is one of two luxury yachts owned by Noelani Yacht Charters. It has four bedrooms, five bathrooms and a full kitchen. Charter packages start at $9,801, according to the company’s website.
—The Associated Press contributed to this story.