HONOLULU — The state has acquired two new law enforcement vessels for the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement. One of the Sea Blade 23 vessels will be based on Oahu and the other
HONOLULU — The state has acquired two new law enforcement vessels for the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement. One of the Sea Blade 23 vessels will be based on Oahu and the other in Kailua-Kona.
One of the 23-foot aluminum, center-control console boats, the Malama Kai II, was blessed during a ceremony at the Keehi Small Boat Harbor Thursday on Oahu.
The other vessel has been in service in Kailua-Kona for several months and will be blessed at a later date. Officers are using it in waters off the Kona Coast to enforce rules associated with swimming with dolphins and other marine animals, as well as for general law enforcement purposes, the department said in a press release.
It has yet to be named, but is the same as the Malama Kai II, named after the first ocean-going law enforcement vessel state fish and game wardens began using in 1960, Malama Kai.
The Sea Blade 23 incorporates a large T-top for sun protection, a 100-gallon fuel capacity and twin 150 horsepower engines. It is specifically designed to operate safely and comfortably in Hawaii’s rough and unforgiving sea conditions, said Hawaii-based Navatek Boat Builders President Gary Johnson.
“These vessels will greatly enhance the capacity of the work performed by our DOCARE officers, that’s necessary to protect and monitor Hawaii’s natural resources,” DLNR Chairwoman Suzanne Case said in the press release.
