Commercial Fishing Vessel Grounds Off Honolulu

A salvage team is working to refloat a 79-foot commercial fishing vessel from a reef near Honolulu, Hawaii after the vessel grounded there late Tuesday night.

An update from the Coast Guard on Wednesday said responders were working to lighter all potential pollutants from FV Pacific Paradise in preparation to the refloat the vessel.

The vessel had approximately 8,000 gallons of diesel, 55 gallons of lube and hydraulic oils and four marine batteries are aboard, according to the Coast Guard.

Coast Guard response and Honolulu Fire Department crews rescued the American master and 19 foreign crew members from the vessel late Tuesday night following reports it had grounded off Diamond Head near Kaimana Beach. The vessel is hard aground about 1,000 feet offshore from shore.

“The salvage team is stabilizing the vessel with anchors and will attempt to lighter the vessel fully before dark Wednesday with the intent to remove it from the reef during the next optimum high tide, currently forecast for late morning Thursday,” the Coast Guard said in an update late Wednesday.

As of Thursday afternoon there were no reports that the had been refloated.

The Pacific Paradise a U.S.-flagged fishing vessel and part of the Hawaii longline fleet homeported in Honolulu. The vessel’s last port of call was American Samoa and they were en route to the commercial port of Honolulu. No injuries or pollution are reported.

The Coast Guard said it is working with partners to evaluate and minimize risks to aquatic resources from the grounding and salvage operations and potential fuel spills. “No marine mammals have been impacted. Coast Guard survey crews will walk to the beaches as an additional impact assessment tool,” the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard said it will be conducting an investigation into the grounding, adding that weather at the time of the incident was not a factor.

The crew was released to Customs and Border Protection personnel for further action, according to the Coast Guard.

A video of the grounded vessel is below: