Past Events

In May of 2022 a private yacht was intentionally grounded by persons seeking permission to enter the territory while awaiting quarantine during the COVID-19 shutdown. The vessel was removed shortly after grounding. CRAG did a rapid reconnaissance survey and found damage to live coral colonies as well as a cyanobacteria bloom in the weeks following. There was no official report.

On 7 February 2018, an 88-foot fishing vessel named Chui Zai Fa No. 1 ran aground a coral reef off Leone in Tutuila’s Western District coinciding with Tropical Storm Gita. The vessel's crew had abandoned ship in November of 2017 when it caught fire in international waters and fled to Fiji. The incident was deemed not to have any chemical pollutants by the US Coast Guard who found the diesel and fuel tanks to be empty. Salvage efforts by partners in American Samoa (EPA, DMWR, & NMSAS) were successful.

​On 14 April 2016, No.1 Ji Hyun ran aground on reefs off Aunu’u’s western side located in a National Marine Sanctuary unit. The wreckage was situated on important fishing grounds, impacting the local community. Following the initial oil clean-up by USCG, who initiated 3 unsuccessful removal attempts under the Oil Pollution Act, jurisdiction was handed over to NOAA. NOAA contracted a salvage naval architect (salvage master) to devise an extraction plan from T&T Salvage three months post-grounding, successful removal occurred via tandem tow with 2 tug boats funded by the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. The owner of the vessel had no liability insurance, as the American Samoa Starkist Tuna Cannery who contracted the vessel, does not require insurance. 

On May 22, 2015 the Taiwanese longliner F/V Seahawk #68 ran aground on the reef at Avatele Point near the Pago Pago Airport causing major damage to the coral reef at that site. Approximately 1,200 – 1,500 gallons of diesel fuel, 200 gallons of lube oil, and 75 tons of fish were on board. Within one month of running aground the fuel, oil, and other hazardous materials were removed by a local contractor, SOLAR Inc. In June 2015, DMWR, assisted by NPS, also conducted a rapid biological assessment and removed debris that posed an entanglement hazard for marine organisms. In September 2020, DMWR received multiple reports from local community members that the grounded vessel had shifted significantly and large pieces of debris from the ship had broken off and were getting lodged on the reef around the Pala Lagoon. On October 2, 2020, staff from CRAG-DMWR, NPS, and AS-EPA with support from Marine Patrol conducted both an in-water and on-shore assessment for an initial removal attempt, which was interrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak and ultimately failed. In October 2024, the Department of Port Administration (DPA) received funding from NOAA Marine Debris to complete the removal. This removal project is expected to begin in the end of 2025 or early 2026.

Historical groundings of vessels in American Samoa include the 1993 Jin Shiang Fa Shipwreck of a Taiwanese longliner at Rose Atoll NWR, which left 100,000 gallons of diesel spilt and 300 tons of iron debris. The excess iron leaching into the water has contributed to harmful algal blooms that are creating ‘black reefs,’ which refers to the reduced clarity and settlement of dark waste. Similarly, copper from the metal wreckage and toluene and benzene from the fuel oil had leached into the water column creating toxic zones for marine organisms. The wreck crushed the reef and killed many inhabiting invertebrates affecting 9,000 ㎡ of reef. This caused a shift in the system's ecology by removing native organisms and inviting species that are attracted to macroalgae. Prior to removal, impact assessments 3 years later showed meager recovery. Removal efforts, coordinated by US F&W, began 11 Nov 1993 and are ongoing as of June 2024. The vast and prolonged efforts and funds needed to investigate and remedy a vessel grounding should encourage proper regulations and subsequent enforcement as preventative measures. The current removal strategy is to have a crew of surface supplied divers saw off metal debris underwater to then float up with lift bags.

Following Tropical Cyclone Val, 9 ADVs that had been sitting in Pago Pago Harbor were swept into valuable reefs. There were initially 1,500 gallons of oil associated with the groundings, prompting involvement by the Hawaiian USCG as directed by the Oil Pollution Act. As removal was predicted to increase damage to the already battered reefs, NOAA decided to deploy NRDA authorities, funded by the Oil Spill Liability Trust, to implement restoration at the sites of impact. This was the first time the OSLT was used for restoration purposes, which amounted to $3 million, and offers precedent for future restoration funding. It took 9 years to remove every grounded vessel, along with the 36,000 gallons of oil and 600 pounds of pure ammonia they polluted over time. Coral transplantation efforts around the grounding scars showed a 60-78% success rate by 2005. This grounding scenario illustrates the need to proactively remove ADVs before they are swept aground onto reefs, especially in American Samoa where strong wave energy and storms are frequent.