SWSMyacht – by Dean Murray
Dramatic scenes show the U.S. coast guard chasing a man suspected of stealing a yacht.
Coast Guard Sector Honolulu were notified on Friday (21 Feb) of a 43-foot yacht driving erratically.
Additionally, naval watchstanders received a call from the owner of a vessel matching the yacht’s description stating his boat had been stolen from Kewalo Basin Harbor.
However, when the 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Honolulu approached the suspect vessel with its sirens on, it appeared to try and escape.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported: “When the boat crew approached the yacht and informed the operator of the security zone, he departed the harbor at a high rate of speed.
“The Coast Guard crew followed, issuing commands for the man to stop. When the yacht decelerated, Coast Guard personnel boarded the vessel and detained the man.”
Officers arrested the individual and charged him with theft in the first degree, unauthorised control of a propelled vehicle in the first degree, and criminal property damage in the first degree.
The crew towed the boat safely ashore to Station Honolulu and transferred the suspect to officers with the Honolulu Police Department and State of Hawaii Sheriff Division.
The incident remains under investigation.
