HONOLUA BAY, Maui — The 120-ton luxury yacht stuck on the shore reef of Honolua Bay was finally freed over the weekend, only to then be sunk to the bottom of the ocean on Sunday.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources had been struggling to remove the yacht Nakoa since its grounding on Feb. 20, allegedly caused by a mooring line severing while its owner, Jim Jones, was aboard with his family.
After two failed attempts to refloat the craft last week, the yacht was pulled from the reef at around 1 p.m. on Sunday in a joint effort by the salvage ship Kahi, operated by Visionary Marine LLC, and tractor tug Mary Catherine, operated by Sause Brothers Inc., according to a statement from the department.
Shortly after, the DLNR reported the vessel had “taken on water, was listing starboard and riding bow high.”
The department’s initial plan was to take the yacht back to Honolulu, but that option became unfeasible when the boat started sinking due to holes in its hull. Instead, its contractors scuttled the vessel in 800 feet of water.
“Scuttling the vessel was always a possibility,” said Dan Dennison, DLNR’s senior communications manager, in a March 6 email response to The Garden Island.
According to Dennison, the yacht now lies at the bottom of the channel between Maui and Moloka‘i.
The Garden Island could not reach Jones for comment regarding his yacht being deliberately sunk at sea.
But Dennison repeated previous statements that Jones will be responsible for all costs associated with the removal, as well as additional costs for damage to the reef and live rock.
Dennison added that an increase in costs still remains to be determined, and that he was not aware of any contact between Jones and the DLNR since the salvage.
The department previously reported it would charge Jones $460,000 just for the yacht’s removal, not including any environmental damage.
Damage to the area, located just outside the Honolua-Mokule‘ia Bay Marine Life Conservation District, has been a major topic of concern for both government officials and community members since the incident first occurred.
Dennison claimed that sinking the yacht would not cause any significant marine pollution.
“As for the environmental impacts associated with the scuttling, they should be minimal, as all fuel and hazardous materials had been previously removed by a contractor working under the direction of the U.S. Coast Guard,” he said, adding any items that were on the surface or floated up were also collected.
State Board of Land and Natural Resources Chair Dawn Chang also addressed concerns about environmental damage in an interview shortly after the yacht’s removal, noting her appreciation of community members who have been monitoring and watching the scene to ensure that “this special resource is protected.”
“I will assure you, the department is going to use all of its resources, including the attorney general’s office, to hold this vessel and its owners accountable,” she said, “both for the damages to the reef, the environment, all the costs associated with the removal of the vessel, as well as all of the administrative costs.”
Chang said a team from the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources plans on conducting a post-grounding damage assessment of the coral and live rock later this week.
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Emma Grunwald, reporter, can be reached 808-652-0638 or egrunwald@thegardenisland.com.
