Who Owns The Yacht Nakoa?

The owner of a luxury yacht that ran aground in Honolua Bay last month is seeking more than $2 million in damages after the boat ran aground. The lawsuit filed by attorneys for Kevin and Kimberly Albert of New Mexico, who provided financing for the Nakoa, accused Jim Jones and his wife of taking on investors in December 2022 to acquire the yacht and charter it through his company, Noelani Yacht Charters. The owners of the 28.1-meter Nakoa have requested a formal case hearing to contest a 1,818,851.97 fine given by the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

The Nakoa, one of two luxury yachts owned by Noelani Yacht Charters, was banked on a reef about 700 feet outside the Honolua-Mokulēʻia Bay Marine Life. The maximum penalty for the lawsuit is $2 million. In July 2023, the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) reached a tentative settlement agreement with the owners of Nakoa – Jim Jones, Noelani Yacht Charters, LLC, Kevin and Kimberly Albert, and the Albert Revocable Trust – to pay for damage to the areas natural resources, its restoration, and the cost of the DLNR investigation.

Jan 28, 2024, the lawsuit says Jones had agreed to purchase the Nakoa from the Alberts, which owned the vessel through a trust. The price tag was 1.45 million. The Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) is deciding how much to fine Jim Jones, owner of the luxury yacht Nakoa.