Maui Snorkel Charters Inc. will pay the state nearly $400,000 for damaging coral within the Molokini Shoal Marine Life Conservation District under a settlement approved by the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

A $386,297 administrative fine against the company, which does business as Maui Dive Shop, is the largest ever issued by the state in a case involving coral damage within a marine life conservation district.

The company also must pay for $10,618 in administrative costs incurred by the Department of Land and Natural Resources during its investigation.

The damage occurred from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6, 2006, after the company's 32-foot Kai Anela sank after one of its bow lines became tangled in an engine. Fifteen people aboard the vessel had to jump into choppy seas dangerously close to Molokini crater without life preservers, according to a Department of Land and Natural Resources report. All were rescued.

The sinking and subsequent salvage efforts killed or injured 661 to 871 coral colonies spread out over 2,067 square feet.

The BLNR in January approved a recommendation for penalties totalling $550,000, but settlement negotiations with Maui Snorkel Charters resulted in a reduced amount. Under the settlement approved Friday, the company must make an immediate payment of $250,000, with the remaining amount to be paid in three installments over three years.

The agreement also calls for suspending the Kai Anela's permit to operate within the Molokini conservation district for 2 1/2 months, with credit given for the two months the vessel was out of operation after the sinking.

The Molokini permits have an estimated yearly net value of $687,000, according to DLNR.

At a January BLNR meeting, Maui Snorkel Charters co-owner Jeffrey Strahn apologized and expressed remorse.