The Honolulu molasses spill refers to a spill of 1,400 tons of molasses into Honolulu Harbor in September 2013. The spill was discovered on September 9, 2013. It was caused by a faulty pipe, for which the shipping company Matson Navigation Co. took responsibility. Molasses is an unregulated product, and neither Matson nor government officials had a contingency plan to respond to a molasses spill. Natural currents and weather are expected to eventually dilute and flush the molasses out of the harbor and a nearby lagoon.
Divers in the harbor area reported that all sea life was killed by the molasses, which instantly sank to the bottom of the harbor and caused widespread de-oxygenation. Various species of coral were injured or killed, and more than 26,000 fish and other marine species suffocated and died.
Molasses is produced from sugar cane at the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. on Maui and is shipped to the mainland to be processed and sold. Matson has been transporting molasses from Honolulu Harbor for 30 years and currently ships it about once a week.
On September 20, 2013 the Hawaii Department of Transportation issued an order that all businesses which pump products through port pipelines must provide the state with documentation about pipeline inspections and spill response plans. Previously no such reporting had been required. The first such plan was filed October 18 by Kahului Trucking & Storage, a subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin. Since such spills are almost impossible to clean up, the plan focuses on prevention and early detection, with regular inspections of pipelines and hourly monitoring of transmission operations.
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