Archive image: U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Tyler Sojka, an aviation survival technician assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point in Kapolei, Hawaii, prepares to be lowered from a Coast Guard MH-65E Dolphin helicopter during vertical surface training in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, Dec. 10, 2025.
The Coast Guard began using the MH-65 Dolphin helicopter in 1985, replacing the HH-52 Seaguard helicopter.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Tyler Robertson.
HONOLULU — The Coast Guard and Navy search for a missing vessel with one boater aboard west of Oahu. Saturday, May 23, 2026.
The missing boater is a 61-year-old man who departed on a fishing trip early Wednesday morning and was reportedly fishing near the Waianae coast off the southwest side of Oahu around noon Wednesday.
The vessel has a white hull, pink trim and twin outboard engines.
The U.S. Coast Guard teams have so far searched for a combined 89 hours and covered approximately 175,968 square miles. Current on-scene weather conditions are winds of 30 mph and 2- to 4-foot seas with 8- to 10-foot swells and 10 miles of visibility.
Search efforts began after Coast Guard Sector Honolulu command center watchstanders received notification at 2:15 p.m. Thursday from the harbormaster of Waianae Small Boat Harbor that the man’s truck and trailer were still at the boat ramp.
The Coast Guard watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast (UMIB) and coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point HC-130J Super Hercules airplane aircrew and MH-65E Dolphin Short-Range Recovery Helicopter aircrew, a Coast Guard Station Honolulu 45-foot Response Boat-Medium (RB-M) crew and the crew of fast response Cutter USCGC Joseph Gerczak (WPC 1126). A U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon airplane aircrew with Navy Command Task Force-32 on Marine Corps Base Hawaii is also assisting with the search.
Anyone with information that may assist in search efforts should contact the Coast Guard on VHF-FM channel 16 or call the Sector Honolulu command center at 1-800-552-6458.
Involved in the search are:
- Navy Command Task Force-32
UPDATE 2
A good Samaritan found a partially sunken vessel matching the description of the missing man’s boat about 18 miles west of Waianae at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday, May 24, 2026.
Friends of the missing man arrived on scene and confirmed the vessel was his boat. The individuals righted the boat and towed it to Waianae Small Boat Harbor. Search crews continue efforts to locate the missing man.
Current on-scene weather conditions are winds of 23 mph and 2- to 4-foot seas with 8- to 10-foot swells and 10 miles of visibility.
–USCG-
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