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53 tons of marine debris and lifeboat of Sincerity Ace recovered

A team from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project, a Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit organization, returned to Honolulu aboard the 'Imua' on Nov 3, 2022, with another 53 tons of marine debris removed from reefs and beaches of the islands and atolls within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The debris removal included: - 64,000 pounds of ghost net removed from the reefs; - 32,530 pounds of ghost net removed from the shorelines; - 9,125 pounds of ocean plastic debris removed from the shorelines. Using their team of highly-skilled freedivers, PMDP conducted cleanups at Kapou (Lisianski Island), Manawai (Pearl and Hermes Atoll), Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) and Hōlanikū (Kure Atoll), focusing on cutting ghost nets from the coral reefs. In addition to removal of ghost nets and ocean plastics, on this mission the team also tackled the salvage ofa lifeboat of the car carrier 'Sincerity Ace' that had been beached at Manawai (Pearl and Hermes Atoll) for over a year. It was cast adrift in the vicinity of Papahānaumokuākea after the disastrous onboard fire resulted in the ship being abandoned on the high seas in Jan 2019. The lifeboat had been aground on one of Manawai’s most pristine islets since at least June 2021, and posed an entrapment threat to seabirds as well as a contamination threat from the diesel fuel, batteries and engine fluids that were aboard. The PMDP team, using sand anchors and pulleys, was able to winch the boat higher onto the beach where they repaired large gashes in the fiberglass hull before winching it back into the water and towing it five miles offshore to the waiting 'Imua'. Report with photos: https://mauinow.com/2022/11/14/53-tons-of-marine-debris-removed-from-papahanaumokuakea/