Salvage work begins on defueled luxury yacht at Honolua | News, Sports, Jobs

After the 94-foot-long vessel, Nakoa, was defueled, officials waited for high tides Sunday to remove the yacht off the rocks and coral reef. DLNR photos

Work to salvage a 120-ton luxury yacht began Sunday after the vessel, Nakoa, was defueled Saturday at its grounding spot just outside the Honolua-Mokuleia Marine Life Conservation District.

After six days, the U.S. Coast Guard assumed responsibility for the operation to remove an estimated 470 gallons of petroleum products, other hazardous substances and 14 marine batteries off the yacht, according to a news release.

The Coast Guard retained Sea Engineering Inc. of Honolulu as the contractor for the fuel removal work. Sea Engineering hired Maui-based Pacific Helicopters Hawaii to fly 55-gallon drums of fuel from the boat’s stern to a staging area near the top of Lipoa Point, where they were transported by truck for disposal.

“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,” Chief David Jones of the Coast Guard Sector Honolulu said in a news release.

After six days, the U.S. Coast Guard remove an estimated 470 gallons of petroleum products, other hazardous substances, and 14 marine batteries off the luxury yacht on Saturday just outside the Honolua-Mokuleia Marine Life Conservation District.

Jones and other officials said that safe defueling is a “complex operation that takes time.”

Sea Engineering President Andrew Rocheleau said the time to defuel the luxury yacht took longer because the vessel is leaning to one side at the shoreline, so fuel moved into baffles within the boat’s 2,400-gallon tank.

“It took additional time to get into each of those compartments and either pump diesel out or use absorbent pads to soak it up,” Rocheleau said.

Many folks on Maui have expressed concern and frustration about how long it has taken to remove the 94-foot-long vessel off the pristine nearshore rocks and coral reef.

Rocheleau said he understood, but noted that even before the Coast Guard and the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation were notified that the vessel’s owner couldn’t pay for defueling or salvaging, discussions and planning were already underway between the agencies and contractors.

“It takes time, as you have to assess risk to personnel, planning for safe helicopter operations, procurement, and being sure that all government rules, regulations, and laws are followed,” he said.

Now that defueling is finished, the vessel is under the control of DOBOR, which will be relying on high tides to pull the yacht out.

“It is our hope that first pull will free the boat and allow the salvage company to pull it out into deeper ocean water,” DOBOR Administrator Ed Underwood said in a news release Sunday.

Maui state Rep. Elle Cochran, whose district includes West Maui, discussed the possibility of having a publicly or privately owned salvage firm on Maui full time to reduce response time delays, but DLNR First Deputy Laura Kaakua said “that’s a big issue.”

“When these things happen, especially with a vessel the size of the Nakoa, there are no local resources available to mount a speedy salvage,” Kaakua said.

The dirt road leading into a viewing area at Lipoa Point will remain closed during the salvage operations.

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