Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Monday was a cause for celebration for the crews at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park.
In a tweet sent out by the Naval Park's Twitter account that evening, it showed a picture with crew members celebrating on the deck of the USS The Sullivans, which was righted back in place in the Buffalo Harbor.
"Certainly, it was an exciting day [on Monday]," said Paul Marzello, President and CEO of the Buffalo Naval Park. "Everybody was ecstatic that the ship came up, and as easily as she came up, to be quite honest with you. I was shocked. We started at about 8 a.m. and by 10:30 a.m., she was significantly upright and raising her head out of the water. So we all thought that that might have been a 24-48 hour process, and in less than four or five hours, she was in great shape. So that was a joyous day."
According to the latest information from the U.S. Coast Guard, 95% of the water has been removed from the 79-year-old vessel, while a total of 51 holes have been plugged on the exterior of the ship. With that taking place, crews continue to go compartment-by-compartment to pump out out any remaining water and any other potentially oil contaminants from the destroyer.
With the World War II era destroyer now back in its place at the Buffalo Harbor, that has allowed the mission objective to change going into the coming days and weeks.
"We've gone from an emergency response phase to a maintenance and decontamination phase now," Marzello explained. "She's listing at 0.1%, which is insignificant. For that reason, we're concentrating on some of the things that we need to concentrate on going forward."
When assessing the damage to the exterior of the USS The Sullivans, the 51 holes that were plugged came as a bit of a surprise to the folks at the Buffalo Naval Park. Many of the holes that were plugged were about the size of a dime up to anywhere between two-and-a-half and three inches, at the most.
In addition, the holes were found sporadically throughout the hull, with a majority of them popping up on the starboard side of the vessel. Marzello also says the holes were generally in the splashes zone of the ship, which is about three feet above the waterline or three feet below the waterline.
However, what crews didn't foresee during recovery efforts with the ship is a number of holes that were in a horizontal line, almost forming, what was thought to be, a seam crack just forward of mid-ship.
"We thought the hole is going to be just after mid-ship. What we found is just forward mid-ship a series of holes that altogether made roughly three feet of open space," Marzello said. "That open space created an incredible amount of water to come in in a very short time. As those holes not necessarily connected, but formed this crease, it was substantial damage, and enough that we think - obviously there's going to be an investigation that actually goes through all the details - that in itself could be enough to have the incident that we did and almost her roll over."
While the recovery efforts over the past few weeks were, and still is a collaborative effort with a number of different groups and organizations, Marzello commends the work of the U.S. Coast Guard and its plan of action it already had in place shortly after the ship began listing back on April 13.
"They have a procedure in place for these kinds of incidents. They are well-equipped to deal with them wherever it may occur anywhere in the country, probably in the world," Marzello said. "They come on in with an incident report, an incident plan, an incident strategic plan that says, 'This is how we're going to attack this problem,' and it's done in a very methodical, organized way."
But, of course, Marzello has plenty of great things to say about the entire team that worked tirelessly to get the USS The Sullivans righted in the waters of the Buffalo River.
"What I saw happening through the course of these 21 days - it's amazing 21 days has gone by, it's like three weeks of everyone's life. I've been absolutely amazed at the generosity, the commitments and the level of support that has come from the community, not just here, but throughout the country and a few other countries outside of here. I have spent probably the last hour-and-a-half just signing letters of thanks anywhere from $5 to $5,000. I don't really know what the connection is between these individuals and the Sullivans. All I know is it mean something to them."
Not only is Marzello extremely grateful for the efforts of all that worked to salvage the historic ship, but also those in the community at large who reached out with their support over the past few weeks.
"I've been absolutely amazed at the generosity, the commitments and the level of support that has come from the community, not just here, but throughout the country and a few other countries outside of here," he said. "I have spent probably the last hour-and-a-half just signing letters of thanks anywhere from $5 to $5,000. I don't really know what the connection is between these individuals and the Sullivans. All I know is it mean something to them.
"They have taken the time, in some cases, to write letters of support, texts, phone calls. Every morning when I come in, I've got just a host of things to go through that provides inspiration and support, and really motivates the workers every day. That has been a real help, because I've taken the time every morning to read a text or a letter, or something that has come to me, and not only giving me inspiration, but gives me a chance to extend that to the workforce."
While the mission is far from over to make the necessary repairs and touch-ups to the USS The Sullivans, life at the Buffalo Naval Park is expected to return to a sense of normalcy soon enough for Marzello and the rest of the group at the Buffalo Harbor.
"We've taken a great amount of time to figure out how we can keep the restaurant [Liberty Hound] open, and the gift shop so people have access to that," Marzello said. "We are now working on a plan for the re-opening of the park, as a whole, and what that will mean, in terms of what kind of security fencing, what kind of access to the Sullivans, what kind of access to the other two ships and the museum building. So there's a lot to look at right now, and that's going to be released very shortly."
More future plans for the Buffalo Naval Park and USS The Sullivans is likely to be announced later this week.
You can listen to more of our conversation with Marzello in the player below: