150-Year-Old Ship Falls Of Clyde Permanently Removed From Honolulu Harbour

The historic vessel Falls of Clyde, a nearly 150-year-old ship long moored at Honolulu Harbour, has been permanently removed and disposed of at sea.

According to the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation (HDOT), the operation began in the early hours of October 15, when the ship was towed from its berth at Pier 7. By noon, the vessel had reached its final resting place, an approved disposal site located roughly 25 miles south of Honolulu Harbour.

The removal project was carried out by Shipwright LLC, a Florida-based maritime technical consulting firm contracted in July 2025 to undertake the vessel’s permanent removal.

The project, estimated to cost around $4.9 million, was completed ahead of schedule after the company secured all required approvals from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency.

An HDOT spokesperson said the operation was originally scheduled for completion in late November, but Shipwright’s team wrapped up earlier than expected after finishing the remediation phase and receiving the required approvals from regulators.

The large-scale effort mobilised nearly 100 O‘ahu businesses and vendors. The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) ‘Ānuenue Coral Nursery and Fisheries Research Centre provided specialist coral salvage support to ensure the safe and environmentally responsible execution of the operation.

Ahead of the vessel’s removal, the Friends of Falls of Clyde organisation hosted a small send-off ceremony on Tuesday to bid farewell to the ship. HDOT said it continues to work with the group to create a permanent memorial display featuring significant artefacts from the vessel, including its name board, bell, and wheel.

Additional artefacts taken from the Falls of Clyde have been handed over to the U.S. National Park Service and will be showcased at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Some of the ship’s original rigging tools will also be repurposed for maintaining the Balclutha, a three-masted, square-rigged Scottish-built ship moored at the same site.

The Falls of Clyde, built in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1878, sailed several trading voyages to western U.S. ports before being sold to American owners in 1898. It later became part of Capt. William Matson’s Matson Navigation Co. fleet, transporting sugar across the Pacific. In the early 1900s, the ship was modified into a sailing oil tanker and later converted into a fuel barge in Alaska.

After years of private ownership and attempts to find a permanent home, local efforts led by Hawai‘i philanthropists and journalist Bob Krauss helped save the vessel.

Their campaign successfully raised $35,000 to bring it back to Honolulu, where it became a familiar landmark on the waterfront by 1963. Over the following three decades, more than $3 million was spent on restoration work.

The ship had been docked at Honolulu Harbor since 2008 and was impounded in 2016 after its permit was revoked due to the owner’s failure to remove it. HDOT solicited bids for its permanent removal in July 2024, awarding the contract to Shipwright LLC, a Florida-based maritime consulting firm, in July 2025.

The removal project, initially estimated at $4.9 million, was completed ahead of schedule after obtaining approvals from the U.S. Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency.

Reference: Hawaii Department of Transportation

Source: Maritime Shipping News