"It sounds and looks like a hurricane," said Andrew Fine.
Fine, with Kaneohe Bay Ocean Sports, was with a tour group when his boat pulled up next to three large vessels.
"They were probably in about six feet of water, not very deep at all, you could actually see sand coming up out of the water in the mist of the water combined," he said.
The three vessels are Landing Craft Air Cushion or "LCAC" class hovercrafts. Marine Corps Base Hawaii says they were anchored near Kapapa Island in navigable water in accordance with the law as a part of logistical movement for RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific Exercise).
The hovercrafts had remained stationary for most of the morning until about noon.
"I mean you can feel the vibrations of those engines and turbines cranking up and starting quite a sight to see," said Fine.
It was a sight that concerned several Kaneohe residents, boaters and an environmental watchdog.
"Everyone wants to know what’s going on because they are out there as well and that’s their fishing grounds," said Mike Chung, Kaneohe Bay boater.
"Are they breaking the coral, hurting the turtles, scaring away fish, the octopus and what about public safety?" said Peter Field, Kaneohe Bay resident.
"Are there any buoys, is there any call out, is there an emergency standby, has the state been notified that these are here?" said Carroll Cox, Envirowatch.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources says no permit was required to navigate the hovercrafts in Kaneohe Bay because they were not conducting exercises. The DLNR also added that the vessels haven’t done anything that would cause concern.
Marine Corps Base Hawaii says every effort was made to stay clear of the Ocean Recreational Management Area and that no portion of the hovercrafts hull structure penetrates the water surface.
"There’s no way that with all of that churning and turning of the bottom floor that it’s not destroying something down there," said Fine.
Marine Corps Base Hawaii says at no time were the hovercrafts on the sandbar or on the reef.
The Landing Craft Air Cushion is a high-speed, over-the-beach fully amphibious landing craft, capable of carrying a 60-75 ton payload.
(Photo courtesy of Carroll Cox)
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
