On November 5, 2015, about 2305, the crew aboard the 110-foot-long US Coast Guard cutter Kiska lost radio contact with the captain of the 30-foot-long recreational vessel Kolina. At the time, the cutter was towing the recreational vessel in the Alenuihaha Channel, about 26 nautical miles (nm) south of Maui, Hawaii, after the Kolina captain had requested aid due to a broken tiller. The Coast Guard began a search-and-rescue/person-in-the-water mission to locate the captain. At 0917 on November 6, the captain was found in the water underneath the Kolina, entangled in the mast rigging and unresponsive. The Kolina sank about 10 hours after the body was retrieved.

​​The probable cause of the accident involving Coast Guard cutter Kiska and recreational vessel Kolina, with the death of the Kolina captain, was the Kolina captain's decision to launch and operate a poorly maintained vessel ​and his failure to protect his personal safety during the subsequent tow in the Alenuihaha Channel.