The Casitas; NW Hawaiian Islands, HI

NW Hawaiian Islands, HI | 2005-Jul-02

Initial Notification: The night of July 2, 2005 a 145 foot NOAA chartered vessel, the M/V Casitas, ran aground in the Northwest Hawaiian islands. The Casitas is hard aground on the northeast side of Pearl and Hermes Atoll at coordinates 2757.694 N and 17546.282 W. Sea conditions are 4-6 foot south swell with 15-20 knot winds. The vessel is carrying 16 marine debris divers plus crew for a Marine Debris recovery mission. All passengers and crew are reported safe with no injuries. The vessel contains approximately 30,000 gallons of diesel fuel, 3000 gallons of gasoline, and 200 gallons of lube oil aboard. A morning overflight by the USCG C-130 Hercules observed rainbow sheen from the aft portion of the vessel moving southwest, approximately a half nautical mile long by 200 feet wide.