Luxury Yacht Runs Aground in Maui, Pumps Diesel into Water

HONOLULU (AP) — A luxury yacht that ran aground in waters off the Hawaiian island of Maui accidentally pumped diesel fuel into the ocean after a failed attempt to remove it Tuesday, its owner said.

Jim Jones told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that seawater entered the engine room of the 94-foot (29-meter) yacht, which made the ship’s bilges pump out diesel fuel. He said “not a lot” got in the water and the pumps have been turned off.

“Once we found out the fuel was coming out, we turned it over to the Coast Guard,” Jones said.

The Coast Guard brought in the salvage company Sea Engineering to remove the fuel and vessel, the company’s president, Andrew Rocheleau, said.

Jones expects the fuel will be drained Thursday morning and that the boat will be removed Friday or by the weekend “at the latest.”

The yacht ran aground Monday morning in Honolua Bay after its mooring line snapped.

The vessel is stuck on the rocks near where surfers paddle out to surf. It’s about 700 feet (200 meters) out¡side the state’s Honolua-Mokuleia Bay Marine Life Conservation District.

The Nakoa is one of two luxury yachts owned by Noelani Yacht Charters. It has four bedrooms, five bathrooms and a full kitchen. Charter packages start at $9,801, according to the company’s website.