Efforts are underway to refuel a luxury touring yacht that ran aground in shallow waters off Lahaina, Maui last week.
The Maui Princess, a 100-foot passenger ship widely popular for its sunset dinner cruises around Maui, broke loose from its mooring further offshore on Thursday after “a part reportedly failed,” according to a news release from the Hawaii State Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). The ship drifted closer to shore and became stuck on “a shallow shelf of sand and debris.”
The incident caused no injuries.
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Maui Princess owner David Jung hired Willoughby Consulting and Adjusting to lead the pump-out effort. The company began removing the ship’s 2,500 gallons of fuel, batteries, hazardous materials and other items Monday afternoon.
According to the press release, the process is expected to take several days and involve up to ten helicopter flights to remove the majority of the fuel.
“This is pretty quiet compared to things I’ve done in the past,” David Willoughby of Willoughby Consulting and Adjusting said in a Monday transcript.
Jung did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment, but told local media KITV 4 Island News on Friday that the grounding was an accident.
Since the Maui wildfires destroyed Lahaina Harbor last August, the boat has ceased all commercial operations and struggled to find a location where it could dock permanently.
The DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources “is providing expertise and guidance for the removal operation to minimize any additional impacts to important hard substrate and living corals in the area.” Aquatic biologists have been unable to estimate the potential damage to marine life from high surf along the West Maui coastline.
After pumping out, a salvage company will move the boat to deeper water at high tide.
Last February, another private luxury yacht ran aground off Maui’s north coast. The ship leaked fuel into the ocean and damaged coral and living rocks.
Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. You can reach her at kwong@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: A 100-foot luxury cruising yacht runs aground near Lahaina, Maui
