The Department of Land and Natural Resources said that a 47-foot, steel hull commercial longline fishing vessel that ran aground on the reef outside Kewalo Basin late Thursday night was removed this afternoon.

Marine salvage company Cates International began rigging about 1 p.m. and was able to pull the vessel, its hull still intact, off the reef today with the help of a tugboat, by 3:45 p.m.

DLNR staff monitored the situation to ensure operations were carried out to minimize further damage to the reef, and worked with U.S. Coast Guard to assure that both the natural resources and recreational users were safe.

Due to load shifting, the vessel could not be stabilized to tow to Ke'ehi Marine Center as originally planned. Instead, the Coast Guard gave Cates permission to tow the vessel out for deep water sinking in an area 1,200 feet deep and between 2.5 and 3 miles out. The Coast Guard stood by as the salvage company retrieved any floating debris. The vessel was sunk by 4:50 p.m.

Eight thousand pounds of fish still within the hold of the steel hull vessel could not be safely offloaded and went down with the ship. They are not considered a public safety hazard.

The vessel is insured.

DLNR's Division of Aquatic Resources will be conducting an underwater survey in coming days to assess any damage to corals and marine life by the grounding.