Molasses Massacre in Honolulu Harbor
September 13, 2013
A pipeline running from storage tanks to ships in Honolulu Harbor in Hawaii ruptured on September 9, spilling up to 233,000 gallons (882 million cubic meters) of molasses into the bay. Divers report that the spill has turned Honolulu Harbor into an environmental disaster area, with thousands upon thousands of fish and other marine creatures dead from suffocation. Because the molasses is heavier than water, it is settling to the ocean floor, displacing oxygen-rich water that marine life need to breath, said Keith Korsmeyer, professor of biology at Hawaii Pacific University.
The shipping company that owns the pipeline, Matson Navigation, has issued a statement regretting the spill but contending that there is nothing it can do to clean up the mess. Molasses is a sugar product that, unlike oil, will dissolve over time. However, scientists expect that the dissolved sugar will encourage the growth of bacteria, resulting in blooms (dense populations) that will also sap oxygen from the water. “This is the worst environmental damage to sea life that I have come across, and it’s fair to say this is a biggie, if not the biggest that we’ve had to confront in the state of Hawaii,” Gary Gill, deputy director for the Environmental Health Division of the U.S. Health Department, stated in an interview with Honolulu’s NBC affiliate, KHNL.
Honolulu is Hawaii’s capital, largest city, and chief port. Its main urban area, shown here, is on the southeastern coast of the island of Oahu. Diamond Head, a famous extinct volcano, rises in the background. (© Corbis/SuperStock)
Marine biologists worry that the fish die-off will lure such predators as sharks, barracuda, and eels into the harbor and into neighboring Keehi Lagoon, a major recreational area. Health officials in Hawaii warned swimmers, snokelers, and surfers to stay out of the waters near the harbor. Molasses is manufactured at Hawaii’s last sugar cane plantation and is transported by ship to the mainland.
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