#Nakoa

Rehabilitated coral fragments damaged by a grounded luxury yacht more than two years ago were returned yesterday to Honolua Bay on Maui’s northwestern coast.

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The owners of a luxury yacht that broke loose from its moorings in February 2023 and went aground north of Honolua-Mokulē‘ia Bay are appealing a $1.8 million fine assessed against them by the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

The owners of the luxury yacht Nakoa want a formal contested case hearing to fight a $1.8 million fine assessed last month by the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

The Board of Land and Natural Resources increased a fine against the owners and operator of the luxury yacht, Nakoa, to $1,818,85.97 on Friday, to account for biological and cultural damages, as well as “emotional distress to the community.”

One year after a luxury yacht caused extensive damage to the reef in Honolua Bay on Maui’s northwestern coast, staff and volunteers with the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute continue to care for coral fragments collected from the reef.

Six months after reaching a settlement with owners of a luxury yacht for its grounding, removal and damage to natural resources, the owners still have not paid the thousands of dollars owed to the state.

At its upcoming meeting on Jan. 26, 2024, the Board of Land and Natural Resources will consider enforcement action against the owners of the vessel Nakoa, which, in February 2023, grounded outside the Honolua-Mokulēʻia Bay Marine Life Conservation District. In the incident, 119 specimens of stony coral and 1640.5 square meters of live rock were damaged.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources issued a $117,471.97 fine against the Albert Revocable Trust for coral and live rock damage caused by the grounding of the private luxury yacht Nakoa at Honolua Bay in northwest Maui earlier this year. The board is still contemplating and is open to seeking any kind of fair and reasonable penalty against the operator, Jim Jones and Noelani Yacht Charters, LLC, for damages done to cultural and natural resources.

In addition to the immediate hiring of a contractor to move the vessel away from the birthing stone, DOBOR will hire a salvage contractor to remove the vessel “by any means necessary,” state officials said in a news release today. 

A post-grounding damage assessment conducted by divers from the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources, found that the yacht Nakoa caused damage to corals and reef live rock covering at least 19,434-square-feet, according to state officials.

The DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation reports the yacht, Nakoa, was scuttled in 800 feet of water after it was freed from the rocky shoreline near Honolua where it had been grounded for nearly two weeks. “It had taken on water, was listing starboard and riding bow high after being pulled free by a tractor tug early this afternoon,” according to an update issued by DLNR.

Salvage efforts will resume sometime this weekend as crews attempt to free the grounded yacht Nakoa from the near-shore reef on the edge of Honolua Bay. 

After two failed attempts to free a grounded yacht from the rocky shoreline at Honolua Bay, salvage efforts have hit another snag–this time due to inclement weather and rough seas.

The rigging attached to a grounded luxury yacht off of Maui’s Honolua Bay, failed during a second salvage attempt Monday night, state officials said. The contractor headed back to Oʻahu last night to resupply with stronger rigging. Wednesday is the earliest salvage operations will resume, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Another attempt will be made during high tide later today to pull the grounded luxury yacht, Nakoa, further from shore. The vessel has been grounded for a week just beyond the boundary of the Honolua-Mokulē’ia Marine Life Conservation District.  

The luxury yacht, Nakoa, remained stuck on rocks off of the Honolua Bay coastline overnight after multiple attempts to move the grounded vessel late Sunday.

Salvage crews are waiting for favorable tide conditions to free the 120-ton luxury yacht, Nakoa, has been grounded at Honolua Bay on Maui since last week. Higher tides are forecast late this afternoon and early evening, but may not be enough to refloat the vessel out to open water, according to state officials.

Defueling of the 120-ton luxury yacht, Nakoa, is now complete, and salvage of the vessel is expected to start on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023.

Work to remove fuel, other pollutants, and batteries from the grounded 94-foot-long luxury yacht Nakoa, will continue today (Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023) at Honolua Bay in northwest Maui. The State will bill the yacht’s owner for reimbursement of the $460,000 salvage cost, and for additional staff and administrative costs, and take legal action if necessary.