KUKAILIMOKU POINT — The 70-foot Spirit of Kona vessel grounded and sank early Sunday near Kukailimoku Point in Kailua-Kona.
The steel blue and yellow vessel, owned by Blue Sea Cruises, apparently broke free of its mooring and ran aground about 2 a.m. near the lighthouse north of Kailua Pier, said Bill Taylor, with the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation’s Hawaii District Office. No one was aboard the double-deck vessel at the time and no injuries were reported.
The vessel was battered in the surf generated by Tropical Storm Darby for several hours before it drifted about 20 yards offshore and sunk about 9 a.m.
Sunday morning, large chunks of the vessel, as well as life jackets, cleaning equipment, electronics, furniture and other parts, were washing ashore. The smell of diesel was strong and people were already on the scene, checking out the situation and plucking items from the shoreline.
Mark Trahan was one of them. He came out to the shoreline area after receiving a call from a roommate who works for another boating company and had stayed on their vessel overnight reporting that a boat was upside down on the rocks.
“I came out to check it out, and here I am,” he said, while preparing to launch a drone to get an aerial view of the situation.
It is unknown just how much diesel and oil the boat was carrying at the time, however, Taylor said up to 300 gallons of diesel and 17 gallons of oil may have been on board at the time. The Coast Guard in a press release stated the vessel reportedly had a maximum pollution potential of 600 gallons of diesel fuel aboard, commercial batteries and 19.5 gallons of hydraulic and lube oils.
The Coast Guard reported a 120-by-53 yard nonrecoverable rainbow sheen in the vicinity.
The coastline was closed from King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel to Kukailimoku Point until further notice.
Taylor said the state is in contact with the vessel’s owner to conduct salvage operations. He declined further comment about the status of the vessel’s insurance.
DLNR Spokeswoman Deborah Ward in a Sunday email said the vessel owner has arranged for salvage of the Spirit of Kona.
Edward Kaaua with the U.S. Coast Guard said they were also investigating the incident and a notice of federal interest, which gives the U.S. government the ability to take action to minimize or mitigate damage to public health or welfare caused by the incident, was issued.
“We’re here working on this,” said Taylor. “If people can keep away and not pick up debris and stay out of the water it would be very helpful.”
Civil Defense said no property damage or other incidents, outside the Kona vessel grounding, had been reported in the wake of Tropical Storm Darby.
Hawaii Boats and Yachts magazine’s April 2016 issue contained a sales listing for the tour vessel. The 149-passenger vessel and charter business was listed at $1.25 million.
State business registration records list Cynthia LeMay as the owner of Blue Sea Cruises. Local and toll-free numbers listed for the business, as well as the owners, were disconnected or not responded to Sunday. The company website, www.blueseascruisesinc.com, was not functional.
The DLNR did not respond to questions on plans for assessing damage to the reef as of press time.