Lahaina dredging about to begin

Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) has scheduled regular maintenance dredging of the Lahaina Small Boat Harbor to begin Monday, June 1, 2026.

Over time, sediment accumulates and reduces harbor entrance depths, blocking safe vessel navigation and disrupting water flow. Routine dredging is necessary to ensure safe access for recreational, commercial and emergency vessels, DLNR said.

The targets for this dredging project are the original design depths of -13 feet for the harbor entrance channel and -10 feet for the harbor basin.

All dredged material will be disposed at the landfill, due to the potential presence of debris from the 2023 wildfires in the sediment.

“The permitted commercial operations will continue without interruption during the dredging work,” said DOBOR Administrator, Meghan Statts. “We have continued to engage with the operators and everyone is aware of the plans for the dredging. We appreciate the cooperation from the operators as well as the contractor to ensure that both operations can take place simultaneously.”

The contractor for the dredging work is American Marine Corporation. Construction completion is estimated for December 2026, DLNR said.