The Hawaii Department of Transportation announced Shipwright LLC has been hired to sink the historic Falls of Clyde about 12 miles south of Honolulu Harbor, where it has languished since being impounded in 2016.
The $4.9 million removal project starts Monday with Shipwright, a Florida-based maritime technical consulting firm, removing debris from the ship. Next, Shipwright will strengthen the hull to allow the vessel to be towed out of the harbor in the event of a storm threat or other emergency. From August through November, Shipwright will perform additional reinforcement of the ship before it is towed to the deep ocean and sunk. Shipwright will obtain approval from the U.S. Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency, the latter of which will require removal of all hazardous substances and materials before the vessel is sunk.
In July 2024, Hawaii DOT solicited bids for the permanent removal of the Falls of Clyde. The request for proposal asked the bidders to recommend the method of removal. Prior to this, DOT evaluated removal by ocean disposal in its Final Environmental Assessment in June 2024, finding a greater threat to the marine environment if the ship was to sink either by failure of the hull or because of a natural disaster (hurricane, tsunami, etc.) The DOT also considered either selling the vessel to a third party that would remove it after marking repairs or dismantling the ship in place or at a dry dock.
History of Falls of Clyde
Built in 1878 in Scotland, the Falls of Clyde is the world’s only surviving four-masted, full-rigged ship, according to the Historic Hawaii Foundation. However, it is not currently rigged…