Twelve people aboard an Air Force research ship who took shelter on Johnston Island during Hurricane Ioke yesterday headed back to the ship's home port on O'ahu, according to the Coast Guard.

The 96-foot vessel, The Searcher, was near Johnston Island Tuesday, apparently doing repair work for the island, when the hurricane moved into the area, said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Marsha Delaney.

The Coast Guard yesterday afternoon flew a C-130 plane over the island and dropped radios. The antenna on the group's ship had come down during the storm, cutting off communication.

"The master (of the ship) reported that the vessel is fine, everybody is fine," Delaney said, adding that the group made arrangements to leave Johnston Island and was expected to head back to O'ahu yesterday.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Luke Clayton said it's unclear when The Searcher will arrive in Honolulu.

Two Coast Guard boats that were being dispatched to the island in case the group's vessel was damaged have been called off and will likely be sent home, Delaney said.

The group took shelter in a bunker designed to withstand a Category 4 hurricane.

Winds in the Category 2 Hurricane Ioke were near 105 mph, with higher gusts Tuesday as it slowly moved northwest of the island, according to the weather service's Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Ho-nolulu.

At 11 p.m. last night, Ioke was centered about 225 miles northwest of the island, or about 955 miles west-southwest of Ho-nolulu.

Johnston Island, which is part of the isolated Johnston Atoll, is uninhabited. It is under primary jurisdiction and control of the Air Force. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a national wildlife refuge there.

The atoll has been used by the U.S. military for weapons tests and as the site of a chemical weapons disposal plant. During the 1950s, nuclear warheads were detonated high above the islands. The chemical disposal unit was shut down and its military personnel removed in June 2004, according to the Web site of the Air Force's 15th Airlift Wing.