Divers working from a small boat planned to identify specific coral heads in fairly shallow water for reattachment. Many corals in the region were toppled or crushed by the grounded ship, its anchors, or the heavy cables of the tugboats.

Fisheries biologist John Naughton said the group planned to use a wire brush to clean a space on the reef where a toppled coral head would be placed. Then a batch of concrete would be mixed on the boat and passed to the divers in a plastic container. They would take the concrete to the cleaned surface and form it in place.

"You put a pancake (of concrete) down and set the coral head in it," he said.

The fast-hardening concrete should eventually disappear as coral polyps grow over it and form a permanent bond to the reef.

The transplanting of corals is a process that has been experimented with in Hawai'i for at least three decades, but the biggest such projects have been done in the Caribbean at sites where large ships have gone aground. Hawai'i researchers have consulted with coral reef recovery experts at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary on the techniques.

Marine researchers hope the repair work will keep the coral heads upright and in place when the next big swell comes in from the southwest. Naughton said transplanting is fairly easy in the calm waters of lagoons and protected bays, but adhesives are needed in environments like Barbers Point.