HONOLULU — The Coast Guard completed all temporary moves of aids to navigation in four of the main Hawaiian Islands commercial harbors Saturday, assisting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with dredging operations. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' hopper dredge Essayons conducted maintenance dredging in March and April starting in Nawiliwili, and then at Kalaeloa (Barbers Point), Hilo, Kahului, and Honolulu harbors.
Coast Guard Regional Dive Locker Pacific with assistance from Coast Guard Station Kauai and a boat crew from USCGC Walnut (WLB 205) relocated the buoys.
General safety information and the scope of the project can be found in Coast Guard Marine Safety Alert 14-15. This safety alert and other information about the 2016 Maintenance Dredge Project can be found on the Sector Honolulu homeport website www.homeport.uscg.mil/Honolulu under the Waterways Management page and Hawaii Commercial Harbor 2016 Maintenance Dredging tab. Hawaii is a maritime state over 2,400 miles from the mainland and far more dependent on its harbors than most of the United States. The Hawaii state DOT claims that over 80 percent of all consumer goods - food, clothing, autos, building supplies, machinery, paper, and allied products, medical supplies, and agricultural materials - are imported into the state. Of that 80 percent, approximately 98 percent enters Hawaii though commercial harbors on the major islands.To ensure that these vital goods continue to arrive safely in Hawaii, the Essayons crew dredged approximately 290,000 cubic yards from the five key harbors. The dredge-material will be safely disposed of at EPA-designated ocean disposal sites.
For questions about the dredging operations specifically please contact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Honolulu District Public Affairs office at CEPOH-PA@usace.army.mil or 808-835-4004.