Cruise ships are under investigation for sailing illegally near Hawaii’s protected coast

Hawaii state officials are investigating two cruise ships that were operating illegally near Kauai’s protected Na Pali Coast, according to an emailed statement from the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) on Tuesday.

“Images of the ships circulated on social media and vigilant kamaaina (locals) alerted authorities to the problem,” the release said.

In the statement, HTA said it was in contact with the cruise lines as well as other cruise operators sailing to Hawaii to “underscore the importance of complying with all state and local regulations on our islands.”

The Hawaii State Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), which manages Hawaii’s coastal waters, declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.

DLNR and HTA did not confirm which cruise lines were sailing “much closer to Kauaʻi’s North Shore than state regulations allow.” However, social media posts show that one of the ships is the Celebrity Edge, operated by Celebrity Cruises and having capacity for nearly 3,000 passengers.

“We have strict policies in place to maintain compliance with local regulations around the world,” a spokesperson for Celebrity’s parent company, Royal Caribbean Group, said in an emailed statement. “We will continue to evaluate our policies and take the necessary steps to ensure we continue to act in the most responsible manner possible.”

With striking cliffs, waterfalls and lush valleys, the Na Pali Coast is one of Hawaii’s most iconic coastlines. This is partly due to his appearance in popular films such as King Kong, Pirates of the Caribbean and Jurassic Park.

The state park is home to endemic flora and fauna and covers over 3,500 hectares of protected land. It is also a sacred site where Native Hawaiians once lived, and their heiaus (temples) and petroglyphs can still be found there today.

The waters around the coast are also protected. Since 1988, state law has prohibited commercial vessels carrying 50 or more passengers from operating “within the marine waters of the Na Pali Coast.” These waters are defined as 3,000 feet seaward along the eastern boundary of Moloaa Bay and the southernmost boundary of Na Pali Coast State Park.

The DLNR’s Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement told Hawaii News Now that it has received “numerous reports” from residents who saw the cruise ships sailing in “very shallow water” about just 1,000 feet offshore last week.

“Some of the footage that was taken from the air actually showed the sand being stirred up on the ground, so all of this environmental impact that it was causing was very concerning to me,” Presley Wann, a Kauai resident, told Hawaii News Now.

Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. You can reach her at [email protected].

Contributor: Nathan Diller, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cruise ships caught operating illegally near Kauai’s Na Pali Coast