USA: Sea Engineering Removes Sunken Sailboat from Waikiki Shoreline

A 26-foot sailboat, the Huki Pau, that sank on Sunday in nearshore waters off the Elks.

Club was removed on Tuesday by marine salvage company Sea Engineering, which was hired by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR).

Removal work began early morning and involved attaching floats to lift the vessel, and then use of a crane aboard a barge to lift the pieces of the vessel out of the water and onto the barge.

The vessel was taken to Pier 26 in Honolulu harbor, where it will be inspected by DOBOR staff and then disposed of by the contractor. Cost of removal to the state is estimated at $21,750.

On Friday afternoon, DLNR was notified of the vessel’s presence between 80 and 100 yards from shore in waters 12- to 14-feet deep. A DLNR enforcement officer and biologist responded on Saturday. State boating laws allows boats to anchor up to 72 hours in a location without a mooring permit. At the time, the vessel was not grounded, but the anchor line was found to have been wrapped around live rock and coral, causing concern for reef damage. As a result, the state began the process of notifying the owner Michael Perez-Peers, of Maui, to remove the vessel. At the time, the vessel was otherwise afloat and appeared to be sitting in the water above a substrate of small corals, rubble and sand.

State enforcement officers are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the boat’s sinking. It was previously moored in the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor but had left that location on August 16 after a temporary mooring permit expired in late June.

[mappress]
Press Release, August 31, 2012;  Image: hawaii