SS Maui
Steam Schooner · United States · Lost 1917 · The Hawaiian Islands
A nineteen-year veteran of Hawaii's interisland steamer trade, wrecked on a Kona reef and later turned into an underwater classroom for archaeology students.
Dr. Michael Jessup
See Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
SS Maui was a steam schooner built in 1898 for the Wilder Steamship Company's interisland Hawaii trade, carrying sugar, cargo, and passengers between the islands. In 1917 she struck a reef at Makalawena on the Kona coast of Hawaii Island and was lost. Her scattered wreckage later became a field site for University of Hawaii marine archaeology surveys supported by NOAA.
Vessel
- 1898
- Union Iron Works
- San Francisco, California
- Steel
- 171 ft
- Not established
- 619
- Steam, triple-expansion, single screw
- Wilder Steamship Company
Loss
- January 1, 1917
- Grounding
- Makalawena, off the Kona coast, Hawaii Island
- Pacific Ocean
- Not established
- Sugar
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Wreckage scattered across the reef, studied as an underwater field laboratory.
- Not established
- Not established
- Within Kekaha Kai State Park coastal waters
Position
- 19.73° N 156.04° W
- Approximate position
- Kekaha Kai State Park, Hawaii Island
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (78/100)
Exact date of loss within 1917 and casualty details are not established in the sources reviewed.
NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Maritime Heritage Program
Wreck survey program, vessel history.
Local history of the wreck and bay.
