On August 27, 2026, the Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) received a 911 call at 7:08 p.m. and responded to a boater in distress offshore of Sand Island in Kalihi with 3 units staffed with 11 personnel. The first unit arrived on scene at 7:17 p.m to investigate.
It was reported that a 17 foot Boston Whaler with three boaters onboard encountered engine trouble and was anchored approximately one and a quarter miles offshore of the Keehi Sand Island Boat Ramp. An HFD Rescue boat arrived at the ocean scene making contact with the vessel and boaters at 7:33 p.m. Rescue personnel boarded the vessel and confirmed that there were no injuries and rigged the vessel for towing. HFD’s rescue boat towed the disabled vessel back to the Sand Island Boat Ramp at 7:53 p.m.
All HFD personnel were accounted for with no reports of injuries.