Ala Wai channel stays open as crews salvage sunken sailboat
2012 October 25 - WDA Salvage 06 - at the mouth of the Ala Wai Channel salvage operations are underway to remove the sunken sailboat which sank in the channel earlier in the week. A Sea Engineering, Inc. boat with divers in the water working at the scene. Honolulu Star-Advertiser photo by FL Morris
The state began salvage operations this morning to remove the remains of a 25-foot sailboat that sank earlier this week in the Ala Wai channel near Magic Island.
Meghan Statts, Oahu district manager of the State Boating Division, said the entire vessel is in pieces.
A portion of the mast can be seen above the waves, but it is longer attached to the boat.
Divers on Wednesday attached a buoy to mark the location of the mast.
The channel is open, but boaters and other craft are advised to use caution in the area, Statts said.
Salvage operations, which will involve three vessels, should only take a day.
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The state Department of Land and Natural Resources will bill the owner of the vessel — Kevin Ogino — for the salvage effort.
The boat was last seen illegally moored off Magic Island Monday afternoon.
Statts said the boat’s owner had been cited Oct. 18 and was warned that the vessel was going to be impounded because he had failed to pay mooring fees at Keehi Small Boat Harbor.
