Fuel dock at Lahaina Small Boat Harbor repaired, ready for business after wildfire

Nearly a year after wildfire overwhelmed Lahaina Small Boat Harbor, exploding fuel tanks and incinerating vessels moored dockside, a quiet Hawaiian blessing ceremony was held Monday for the harbor’s repaired fuel dock, now ready for business.

Although the repaired fuel facility was hailed as a significant milestone, much work remains to be done to make the harbor fully operational, including dredging of the harbor basin and entrance channel at an estimated cost of $5 million, according to Meghan Statts, administrator of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation. The dredging funding is pending legislative approval.

Rebuilding of the fuel dock wasn’t an easy decision, given that 80% of the fuel company’s customers’ boats were burned, said Gary Strutz, president of Pacific West Fuels, the state’s fuel vendor at the harbor. And, it’s estimated that it will take two years or more before the harbor is fully rebuilt.

“I explained the situation to the shareholders, and without hesitation they said they’d make as much money as was needed available to rebuild and wanted us to do so as soon as possible,” he said.

So, the newly built fuel dock, first established in 1989, was rebuilt at a cost of $750,000. “There was no power or internet cable to the harbor, and our operations would depend on having both,” Strutz said.

Aside from that investment, the company’s taking a risk: Before the fire, it had 110 customers; now it has 32. Pacific West is the fuel vendor at the harbor for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.

“Considering the devastation from the wildfires nearly a year ago, the overall progression of the above-ground fuel system rebuild was measured,” said Johnny Pender, site manager for Pacific West Fuels. “A project of this complexity, combined with the conditions within the harbor, made it a big undertaking. All parts were either replaced or reconstructed. New electrical components, plumbing, generators and a card reader for making payments offer a system that’s reliable and self-sustaining.”

Repair work that has also been completed at the harbor includes the removal of damaged piles and anchors.

This fuel dock is just one of many construction projects that are planned to restore the harbor. The removal of damaged piles and anchors has also been completed. According to DLNR, other needed harbor improvements include: 

• Reconstruction of the inner marginal wharf (new dock materials already on hand, more legislative funding needed to complete)
• Replacement of front row piers (main area for commercial operators, design and permitting underway)
• Replacement of outer marginal wharf (design, permitting and construction, pending legislative funding)
• Replacement of harbor office (Federal Highway Administration providing 80% funding and US Army Corps of Engineers handling debris removal. Project estimated to start this fall.)

“As we approach one-year since the Lahaina wildfires, images of a town and harbor ravaged by fire and the loss of life undoubtedly continue to occupy the hearts and minds of people on Maui, across the state, and throughout the nation,” Statts said. “This important step to rebuild infrastructure and resources at the harbor, for Lahaina and West Maui residents, will hopefully aid in the sense of overall recovery.”

Pender said that, before the fire, construction work in Lahaina was difficult because work areas would needed to be done within barricaded areas to keep tourists away. Then, in the aftermath of the fire, Lahaina has been off limits, and the work area was open; “we can do whatever we want,” he said.

Now, the fuel system originally put in place 30 years ago, has been redone, he said.

“Everything is brand new — electrical, plumbing, vent pipes, you name it — out generators to run this, the Starlink internet to run that,” Pender said. “It’s a big grade up.”

For example, fueling for big boats that might have taken 45 minutes in the past can be done in just a few minutes, he said. “It’s faster than the gas stations by far.”

Napa Valley Petroleum is the parent company of Pacific West Fuels.