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DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM
A sailboat that had run aground Friday night off Keehi Lagoon was still on the reef being buffeted by the surf as the sun set Monday
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A local marine salvage company will remove a 53-foot sailboat that ran aground at about 10 p.m. Friday about 1,000 feet off Keehi Lagoon Park, a Department of Land and Natural Resources spokeswoman said.
The department is in contact with the boat’s owner, whose insurance company is arranging the removal of the vessel, including the keel, by local marine salvage company Parker Marine. The boat’s owner will remove batteries aboard the vessel.
The boat’s removal from the reef has not been scheduled, but Parker Marine has been out to see the boat, DLNR said. The boat has a large hole in its hull from the grounding.
The Coast Guard notified the state boating division of the grounding Friday night. No fuel or other fluids were released into the water.
The boat’s owner, a regular tenant at the Keehi Small Boat Harbor, said he was on the boat watching a fireworks display when it grounded after drifting "further than he realized" and he mistook airport lights for the Keehi channel, according to DLNR.
The Honolulu Fire Department rescued three people from the boat. No injuries were reported.
The boat’s owner claims a number of items were stolen from the vessel over the weekend.
Earlier Friday, a different vessel also was grounded in Keehi Lagoon, DLNR said, but became dislodged from the reef.