It has been a long and winding road for a historic vessel whose end is near. The state has just finalized a contract to tow Falls of Clyde out to sea to be sunk.
In the bids that went out last year, a company won the award but had been leaning toward the preferred alternative to cut up the steel-hulled ship currently sitting at the pier near Aloha Tower.
But that initial company pulled out unexpectedly during a bid challenge, and now a new contractor, the Florida-based firm Shipwright, plans to haul the 146-year-old vessel at least 12 miles offshore. The project is expected to cost $4.9 million.
The Conversation talked to state Transportation Department Director Ed Sniffen about this latest development in the Falls of Clyde saga that saw it delisted from the National Register of Historic Places in anticipation of it ending up on a scrap heap.
Sniffen said Shipwright will seek U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approval for a specific area to sink Falls of Clyde.
"They're going to be upgrading the ship. They're going to be making sure that it's watertight, making sure that they're strengthening a bunch of the outside walls in the hull and everything, to ensure that it won't sink either in our harbor or harbor mouth or anywhere between in that voyage," Sniffen said.
DOT has been working with the Friends of Falls of Clyde and the National Park Service to carefully remove and rehome as many historical items from the vessel as possible. Some may be displayed at Aloha Tower, while others could be sent to a museum in California.
“This is a big piece, making sure that we can remove this ship from this area to ensure the safety and the viability of our ports,” Sniffen said, “but also giving closure to the Friends of Falls of Clyde. To their credit, they've been advocating on behalf of this vessel for a long, long time, without the resources to be able to move it in the area that they wanted to.”
If everything stays on schedule, the ship should be sunk by the end of November, Sniffen said.
Once the vessel is removed, Sniffen hopes the pier will be available for other maritime uses, including shipbuilding, repair, and cargo operations.
Built in 1878, Falls of Clyde has been docked at Honolulu Harbor for free since 2008. The state impounded it in 2016.
This story aired on The Conversation on July 14, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn and Sophia McCullough adapted this story for the web.
