The Coast Guard’s latest bid to remove a stranded 79-foot fishing boat from a reef off Kaimana Beach hit another snag Sunday when it was discovered that an open pathway through the engine room was feeding water into an area salvors were attempting to drain.

The partially submerged Pacific Paradise has been stuck on the reef since it first got stranded just before midnight Oct. 10.

Salvors injected buoyancy-enhancing foam into the vessel’s 20 compartments and had hoped to take advantage of high tide on Saturday to tow the boat away but found that water was entering the boat too rapidly for a single dewatering pump to keep up.

On Sunday, crews were in the process of removing water from a fish hold when they discovered that the hold had an open connection to the engine room, which in turn has been taking in water from the ocean.

Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Sara Muir said salvors would return today to try to seal the connection between the rooms.

Oceangoers are cautioned to stay at least 500 yards from the wreckage for their safety.