USCGC Kukui (WAK-186)

The USCGC Kukui (WAK-186) was a United States Coast Guard buoy tender. As a WAK, she was classified as a vessel designed to maintain and service aids to navigation, specifically buoys, in coastal waters and harbors. The Kukui was part of the Iris-class of buoy tenders, a class of 39 vessels built between 1941 and 1946.

The Kukui served primarily in the Pacific, notably based in Honolulu, Hawaii, for much of her career. Her duties included deploying, retrieving, and maintaining buoys, day beacons, and other navigational aids to ensure safe maritime traffic. This involved tasks such as cleaning buoys, replacing lights, repairing damage from weather or collisions, and ensuring they were properly positioned according to nautical charts.

Beyond her primary duties relating to aids to navigation, the Kukui also participated in other Coast Guard missions, which could include search and rescue operations, law enforcement patrols, and maritime safety inspections.

The USCGC Kukui was decommissioned on June 2, 2000.