Kalaupapa Harbor is located on the north central coast of Moloka’i. The Kalaupapa Harbor project was authorized under Section 107 of the River and Harbor Act of 1960. The non-Federal sponsor is the Department of Health, State of Hawai’i (DOH).  The project is in the operations and maintenance phase.

The project was completed in 1967 at a total Federal cost of $158,000. The existing project consists of a breakwater that is 114 feet long and a basin that is 370 feet long, 70-155 feet wide. The basin is divided into three areas of varying depths from 8 to 13 feet.

In the late 1800s, King Kamehameha V banished all those, mostly native Hawaiians, afflicted by the Hansen’s disease (leprosy) to Kalaupapa, because of its isolated location.  Kalaupapa is now a refuge for the few remaining residents that were once exiled there through the 1960s.  All goods coming into the area are delivered either by air or through the harbor.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintaining project depths in the entrance channel and turning basin area and the breakwater structure. Through permission provided by the Corps in July 2012, the National Park Service and DOH completed repairs and installed new armor stones along the existing Federal breakwater.