Salvors Refloat Tour Vessel That Was Caught By High Waves off Honolulu
Salvors have refloated and removed the tour vessel that was pushed off course by heavy wave action near Kewalo Basin, Honolulu earlier this month.
On the morning of August 9, the 75-foot passenger vessel Discovery was inbound for the Kewalo Basin, a small-craft harbor in Honolulu. High waves of 10-12 feet were rolling towards the beach, and a high surf advisory was in effect. In these conditions, Discovery's master attempted to make a run through the narrow channel into the harbor.
As the boat approached the channel entrance, it was overtaken by a wave. The vessel then veered sharply to starboard, broadside to the wave. Luckily Discovery was large and stable enough that it did not capsize, but the boat was disabled by impact and drifted aground on a nearby reef.
The #USCG is monitoring an aground passenger vessel, the Discovery, approximately 60 feet outside Kewalo Basin Harbor with 2 people on board. The captain plans to refloat at high tide; no pollution has been reported. #hawaii pic.twitter.com/b0xojhoSvw
— U.S. Coast Guard Oceania (@USCGOceania) August 9, 2025
Initial efforts to refloat Discovery were unsuccessful, but the boat had drifted up next to a seawall, and it was secured for easy access for pollution abatement crews. Oil and diesel were pumped off swiftly, reducing risk while awaiting a salvor.
On August 19, a contractor working with the Coast Guard and the State of Hawaii's Division of Conservation and Resources conducted a careful refloat and removal operation. During the run-up, dive teams from the division explored the reef and determined a route that was least likely to result in harm to the coral. Larger coral colonies were documented and their coordinates were passed on to the salvor.
“What we found so far is mostly damage to live rock with a couple of coral colonies that had some fragments,” said DAR Aquatic Biologist Jake Reichert in a statement. “For the removal we tried to give them a corridor that had the least amount of coral.”
Now that the removal is complete, the division's biologists will conduct further assessments of the reef to evaluate any damage from the grounding and the refloat.