State considers new measures to curb boating accidents, deaths

Several boating accidents in the past year, including two in which people died, have prompted state officials to propose that boaters be required to take a safety course and that an advisory committee review ocean recreation safety rules in West Maui.

At least four major accidents happened in Maui County in a year.

Incidents elsewhere include the death of a 17-year-old diver who was struck by a fishing boat in Maunalua Bay on Oahu in October 2009.

A meeting on the proposed rule is scheduled at 9 a.m. Friday before the state Board of Land and Natural Resources in the board’s conference room at 1151 Punchbowl St.

“Our oceans are no longer the wide-open spaces we remember,” said Land Board Chairman William Aila Jr.

“It is increasingly more crowded as people are diving and paddling farther from shore. We are experiencing more and more fatal accidents in our waters.”

Longtime Lahaina resident Patty Nishiyama said coastal areas at Hanakaoo at the southern end of Kaanapali have become too busy with commercial and recreational activity, threatening the safety of people near the shoreline.

“They have no respect for our children swimming,” Nishiyama said.

The Maui accidents were:

>> In July 2011, a diver was fatally struck by a boat in waters outside Kaumalapau Harbor on Lanai.

>> In September, a swimmer lost his arm and required reconstructive surgery for his remaining hand after an escort boat crossed his path in a Maui channel swim.

>> In December, a Maui resident placing flags for a canoe regatta was fatally struck by a boat in waters off Hanakaoo south of Kaanapali.

>> In May, a woman was seriously injured when cut by propellers of a catamaran off Kaanapali.

A study released in 2007 by the National Association of Boating Law Administrators shows Hawaii had the fifth-highest fatality rate for recreational boating with 10.46 deaths per 100,000 vessels.

That is nearly twice the fatality rate of 5.52 deaths per 100,000 vessels in the 15 states that had boating education requirements in place for 10 to 19 years, the state said.

Since 1995, an average of 2.88 recreational boating fatalities have occurred per year in Hawaii, the state said.

State officials have recommended requiring boat operators to complete a safety course to operate a power-driven vessel in Hawaii waters.

The proposed rule would set a minimum age for operating a recreational vessel unsupervised and establish a fine of between $50 and $1,000 for violators.

The state has no minimum age and no education requirement to operate a power-driven vessel in Hawaii.

The proposal would also exempt operators who have a valid license to operate a vessel issued for maritime personnel by the U.S. Coast Guard and vessel renters who received a state-approved boat-safety briefing.

The proposal would exempt boaters coming to Hawaii from a foreign country or from another state who will not be staying more than 60 days and boaters operating vessels power with engines under 10 horsepower.

Experienced boaters would be able to take an equivalency exam if they have a good command of the rules  and would prefer not to take one of the required classes.

At the end of taking the mandatory vessel safety course, boaters would receive a certificate.