Cruise ship snags buoy chain
WAILUKU » The ship Pride of America resumed its cruise around the Hawaiian Islands after making some repairs to its starboard propeller and staying an extra day on Maui.
The 920-foot vessel, a part of NCL America, reported on Monday to the U.S. Coast Guard that it had apparently struck a channel buoy when it left Honolulu Harbor at about 8 p.m. Saturday and had been dragging the buoy chain.
The Coast Guard was investigating the incident, spokesman Lt. John Titchen said yesterday.
Titchen said the Coast Guard has not located the missing buoy, worth about $6,000, and has replaced it with another.
Titchen said it was not uncommon for a vessel to strike a buoy. There was a flash flood warning and rain reported on Oahu around the time the vessel left Honolulu Harbor.
He said reporting the missing buoy showed good seamanship on the part of Pride of America.
Robert Kritzman, executive vice president of Hawaii operations for NCL, said one of the engineers discovered the chain in the starboard propeller at Kahului Harbor on Maui, and divers removed it Tuesday.
Kritzman said the ship had to forgo a trip to Kona on the Big Island to make repairs on Maui.
The Honolulu-based Pride of America, with a capacity of 2,200 passengers, offers seven-day tours of the Hawaiian Islands, traveling to Hilo, Kahului, Kona and Kauai before returning to Oahu.