A series of powerful storms in 2023 and the first part of 2024 contributed to a higher than usual number of boat groundings in Maui, according to state officials. Today, DOBOR awarded a $841,820 contract to Sea Engineering, Inc., to salvage the former Navy torpedo boat, Chaparral. It currently rests in sand, next to a seawall in North Kīhei.
Inclement weather may have contributed to the grounding of two large vessels at Kīhei and Mā’alaea, and now weather continues to slow efforts to remove them, according to officials with the State Department of Land and Natural Resources.
The 55-foot Expeditions Five passenger ferry ran aground near Māʻalaea Harbor on Maui, Monday. There were three crew members on board at the time of the incident.
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.