$30K settlement reached for boat grounding at Maui’s Honolua-Mokulē‘ia Bay

The Hawai‘i Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday unanimously approved a proposed $30,448.67 settlement agreement with Kapalua Kai Sailing, Inc., for the grounding of its vessel, Hula Girl, inside Maui’s Honolua-Mokulē‘ia Bay Marine Life Conservation District, on Jan. 31, 2025.

The fine was recommended by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources to compensate the state for damage to 36 specimens of stony coral and 48 square meters of live rock, the restoration of these marine resources, and the cost of the investigation. 

“The board decided to accept the settlement agreement between the DAR and Kapalua Kai Sailing, Inc., and not pursue the maximum authorized penalties because they took responsibility for their actions,” said BLNR Chair Dawn Chang. “The board also considered other mitigating factors, including the proactive measures taken by Kapalua Kai Sailing during the grounding to avoid fuel and debris discharge, and during removal to minimize impacts to marine resources.” 

“We appreciate Kapalua Kai Sailing’s cooperation throughout this process, and their desire to compensate the people of Hawai‘i for the unintended damage to our natural resources on public lands,” Chang added. “We also realize that the community’s larger concerns regarding the protection of Honolua-Mokulē‘ia Bay Marine Life-Conservation District need to be addressed more comprehensively.”

The BLNR has broad discretion to assess administrative fines for natural resource violations, and the authority to settle, when appropriate. Some of the factors the board took into consideration include the value of the damaged resources, the extent of injury to the public for whom the state holds a public trust in managing the resources involved, state costs to investigate and process the violation, the extent of cooperation by the responsible parties, and voluntary actions taken by the respondent to mitigate or avoid damages. The settlement amount is based on an estimated $22,520 for the value of the natural resources and $7,928.67 for administrative costs.

Background

The Hula Girl is a 65-foot catamaran owned by Kapalua Kai Sailing, Inc., a charter business based in Lahaina, Hawai‘i. On Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, at approximately 6 a.m., the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement received a call from the United States Coast Guard reporting a vessel had grounded at Honolua Bay.

The Hula Girl was lodged on the shallow rocky shoreline in the northern portion of the Honolua-Mokulē‘ia Bay MLCD.

Accounts from the captain of the vessel indicate that the Hula Girl had moored overnight at a designated day-use mooring within Honolua Bay seeking shelter from rough seas and strong winds. The captain said that over the course of the evening the Hula Girl was struck by a waterspout and subjected to successive sets of large waves, which eventually severed the mooring lines and resulted in a loss of steering control.

The Hula Girl was pushed by the southwest winds into the northern portion of Honolua Bay where it grounded.

While the grounding itself caused only minimal impact to the shallow reef structures, salvage operations resulted in measurable damage to significant hardbottom habitat within the MLCD. Dragging of the vessel left two distinct parallel scars over shallow benthic habitat, accounting for most of the 48 square meters of live rock damage.