DLNR: Grounded luxury yacht caused significant damage to more than 100 coral colonies

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A luxury yacht that had been stuck near a Maui marine sanctuary for nearly two weeks caused significant damage to corals and reef live rock covering at least 19,400 square feet, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said.

A four-person team with the DLNR’s Division of Aquatic Resources conducted a preliminary damage the day after the 94-foot “Nakoa” had run aground at Honolua Bay and another assessment after the boat was pulled free on Sunday.

The preliminary assessment showed 19 coral colonies were damaged or destroyed during the initial grounding.

The “Nakoa” remained grounded in extremely shallow water in a high wave environment for nearly two weeks.

The DLNR said damage from the 94-foot “Nakoa” covered at least 19,400 square feet.

State officials said “highly visible, parallel” scars extend nearly 250 feet into deep water, with the first 49 feet consisting of two deep “trench-like” scars roughly 16 feet apart.

“In this area we found 101 impacted coral colonies, and damage to live rock covering nearly 2,099 square feet,” said Russell Sparks, the aquatic biologist leading the assessment team.

A team from the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute has collected more than 100 fragments of broken coral and plans to recover additional fragments soon.

The yacht’s owner will be responsible for salvage costs and damage to live rock and coral, the DLNR said.

After three unsuccessful attempts, the “Nakoa” was dragged away by another boat and ultimately sunk over the weekend.

Meanwhile, DLNR also confirmed there is another fuel leak in waters off Maui where two vessels ran aground.

Officials said recent high winds broke the boats from their moorings in Lahaina overnight Tuesday.

One of the boats is 45-feet-long and the other is 30 feet, according to DLNR.

The owner of one of the boats apparently hired a private contractor to defuel the vessel, but DLNR said that step requires Coast Guard approval.

Residents who live in the area said this has long been a problem.

“This occurrence, especially down at Mala and Lahaina, is not new to us. You know, we’ve been voicing our opinions and our frustrations and our concerns with it being a mooring zone. And this mooring zone is very prone to accidents when we have our Kona winds come through,” said Paele Kiakona.

Kekai Keahi, a resident, added, “The reefs in this area are so damaged by these wrecks and the spills that you know, a lot of other fish in this area and aquatic life suffer.”

This story will be updated.