HONOLULU — Coast Guard Captain of the Port anticipates closing Hawaii County ports to all traffic at 8 p.m. today.
Vessels transiting within the vicinity of the Hawaiian Island harbors should seek sheltered waters until storm conditions subside and the COTP has deemed the ports safe to reopen.
Port closures:
- Hawaii County — Hilo Harbor, Kawaihae Harbor - Anticipate port closing at 8 p.m., Aug. 30
All ocean going commercial vessels and ocean going barges greater than 200 gross tons are expected to make preparations to leave the ports by 8 p.m.
Once the storm has passed and the threat of severe weather has subsided, the Coast Guard, Army Corp of Engineers and State of Hawaii will jointly conduct surveys of channel blockage and prioritize steps to resume essential, then normal, vessel traffic. These steps are to minimize risk of damage to vessels and assess the conditions of channels, aids to navigation, waterfront facilities, piers and other infrastructure.
The COTP, in conjunction with the state DOT-Harbors in Hawaii, will begin sending Port Assessment Teams to accessible areas of the zone as soon as it is safe to do so over the weekend.
“I am committed to reopening each port as soon as it is safe to do so,” said Capt. Mike Long, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port. “Following the storm, the conditions of the ports will be evaluated and changed dependent on the port assessment.”
The Coast Guard will continue to broadcast Notice to Mariners and post Marine Safety Information Bulletins on homeport.uscg.mil/Honolulu to notify the reopening of ports and any special conditions.