A major Hawaiian-based shipping company agreed to pay more than $15 million in damages for a 2013 molasses spill in Honolulu Harbor.
America Al Jazeera reports:
Attorney General Doug Chin called the settlement with Hawaii-based Matson Navigation Co. one of the largest for an environmental violation in Hawaii’s history. The settlement includes a combination of cash, restoration efforts and funding for environmental programs, he said.
Matson is also agreeing to cease its molasses operation in Hawaii and pay for removal of its molasses tanks and any remaining molasses, Chin said.
Clean-up costs are estimated to be between $5.5 million and $9.5 million. On top of that, the company will pay the state $5.9 million, bringing the total reparations to something between $11.4 million and $15.4 million, according to a statement from Matson Inc.
In 2013, 1,400 tons of molasses spilled into the harbor and killed more than 26,000 fish and other marine life. Enough molasses to fill about seven rail cars oozed out from a section of pipe Matson thought had been sealed, suffocating marine life and discoloring the water as the sticky substance sunk to the bottom of the harbor.