Division of Aquatic Resources

By Charlie Taylor, DAR Legal Research Specialist

In February of 2023, a 94-foot luxury yacht named Nakoa grounded onto the rocky coastline of Honolua Bay, Maui, causing considerable damage and angst among community members of northwest Maui, as well as angering Hawaii residents as a whole. Honolua Bay is an important site for environmental, cultural, and recreational activities, and the image of a large super-yacht from off-island grounded onto the shore while leaking fuel into this sacred site left an indelible imprint on community members who regularly frequented the Bay, and the incident made international headlines.

The Nakoa leaking fuel after grounding in Honolua Bay, Maui

DOCARE officers on the scene assessing the situation

The DAR administrative enforcement team, recognizing the cultural importance of Honolua Bay and the pain this event caused our West Maui ohana, made a concerted effort to bring an administrative enforcement action before the Board of Land and Natural Resources sooner rather than later. DAR biologists from Maui set to work immediately to assess the damage caused by the grounding to the underlying live rock and coral reef. Our biologists documented over 100 coral colonies and more than 1,900 square meters of live rock that were damaged by the Nakoa grounding. The team calculated the damage to natural resources using DAR’s coral and live rock penalty matrices and then calculated DLNR’s staff costs and came to a total fine of over $117,000.

A large coral colony damaged by the Nakoa grounding incident

A natural ledge of live rock completely smashed as a result of the Nakoa grounding incident

The penalty of $117,000 did not satisfy many from the Maui community, and their lack of satisfaction was understandable. DAR staff calculates natural resource damage in a consistent, uniform way, and we base our calculations on precedent from earlier damage events. We are able to place a monetary value on coral and live rock, but how can we calculate the value of cultural resources lost? The short answer is we can’t, but the Board can use its discretion to levy additional or elevated penalties based on feedback from the community and its own judgment.

The night before the Board meeting, the team worked and negotiated late into the night with the owners of the Nakoa (not the operators) and reached a settlement whereby the owners would pay the full settlement amount of $117,000 while leaving the door open for the Board to levy additional fines and penalties against the operator of the vessel at a later date. The settlement funds will be paid to DLNR, and DLNR anticipates using these funds for coral, live rock, and other aquatic resource restoration activities.

The team’s decision to focus on this incident, quickly gather information, assess fines and penalties, and bring our findings to the Board in an expedited manner proved to be a fortuitous decision as the northwest Maui community of Lahaina was devastated by the most destructive wildfire in Hawaiian history just 10 days later. The Nakoa grounding incident, while tragic, pales in comparison to the loss of life and property that occurred in Lahaina and the surrounding area on August 8. Still, the team took some solace in the fact that we were able to deliver some justice, however incomplete, to the West Maui community before the Lahaina wildfire tragedy unfolded. Although it may be many, many months before the West Maui community is ready to grapple with the Nakoa grounding incident again, the DAR administrative enforcement team will be ready to advise and assist the Board when it’s ready to revisit the incident and bring justice to the operator of the vessel.