Honolulu Harbor reopens, Lanai harbor repairs could take weeks

Sep 09, 2026

Hawaii's main shipping gateway is running again after Hurricane Lowell shut it down, but two smaller harbors are still out, which is bad news for Lanai residents waiting on supplies.

  • Honolulu Harbor reopened Wednesday morning after storm surge knocked an entrance buoy out of place, leaving ships without a marked safe lane.
  • The short closure blocked almost all cargo traffic and cost more than $50 million in delayed goods and business.
  • Nearly all cargo for the other islands passes through Honolulu first, so the shutdown rippped across the whole state.
  • Kaumalapau Harbor on Lanai was hit hard and will take about two weeks to fix; Port Allen on Kauai is also still closed.
  • Officials are arranging another way to get food and supplies to Lanai in the meantime.

Outlook: Shipping should normalize quickly on Oahu, but Lanai faces weeks of workarounds before its harbor is usable again.

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