Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Nearly eight months ago, it was a nightmare situation for Paul Marzello and the folks at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park.
In the late evening hours of April 13, a breach in the hull of the USS The Sullivans caused a number of small holes to form on the exterior of the ship, resulting in the World War II era destroyer severely listing to her starboard side. The ship ended up taking on a substantial amount of water, as the hull would then end up at the bottom of the Buffalo Harbor.
After weeks of help from a number of different outlets, including the U.S. Coast Guard, crews were able to pump out more than 585,000 gallons of water from the vessel, as well as about 2,000 gallons of oily water, to right the ship back in place on May 2. That signaled the end of the emergency response phase, and commenced a maintenance and decontamination phase of the process.
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More than seven months later, Marzello says the USS The Sullivans continues to sit just fine in her spot in the Buffalo Harbor.
"The Sullivans is sitting right up, she is in great condition," said the President and CEO of the Buffalo Naval Park. "We have an inclinometer on her every day, and every day the readings are coming along just great. So we're not worried about that from that standpoint. She's sitting higher out of the water than she's ever been, as well, because we took a lot of material and water off of her. So from that standpoint, we're really pleased with where she's at."
As the 79-year-old ship gets ready for another winter in Buffalo, plans are already underway to ensure future of not only the Fletcher-class destroyer, but also the USS Little Rock and USS Croaker at the Naval Park. For that, Marzello has brought in naval architect Joe Lombardi and his company, Ocean Technical Services, to come up with a plan of action.
"He responded to an RFP (request for proposal), which we put out back over the summer, and he won the contract to take us to the next level," Marzello explained. "That level will include taking a look at the integrity of all three ships' hulls. Certainly The Sullivans, we have a pretty good idea of what kind of condition she is in, but we're going to take a look at the Little Rock and the Croaker. Secondly is to determine what kind of product still might be remaining in the hull of both the Little Rock and the Croaker. Thirdly, we'll put a plan together, he will put a plan together to remove any product that still might be in it."
Perhaps the most important focus as part of the plan and will be the long-term preservation of The Sullivans and the other vessels at the Naval Park.
"We have talked about a number of ideas, including cofferdams and dry docking and innovative approaches to preserving these ships," Marzello said. "It's going to be his job to take a look at all those options and present the results to us and our board to make an educated decision with the resources that we will be able to, hopefully, come up with to make sure that these ships are preserved for many generations."
Since the ship was righted back in place in May, there have been no further repairs done to the hull of The Sullivans, but she was able to sit pretty good in the harbor and was not taking in water.
In the meantime, though, the company the Naval Park hired to do the patching through a two-part epoxy system has been put on hold until Lombardi determines the next best course of action.
"We're either going to pick up with that two-part epoxy system, or figure out a plan on how to get The Sullivans out of here, which is going to be a difficult task because she's double parked," Marzello said. "We've got the Little Rock boxing near her in on her portside, and then we've got the Croaker, the submarine, boxing her in at the bow. So we would have to move those two ships in order to get her out. It's not going to be an easy task."
While the repairs done to The Sullivans should be plenty to help avoid any further damage being done, especially when the winter months bring bitter-cold temperatures, Marzello feels his crew is much more confident to handle any sort of situation similar to what happened in April. This includes the organization of an emergency response plan for the Naval Park in case any of the other vessels on-hand experience a similar crisis as The Sullivans.
"The emergency response plan has a contract with a local marine engineer who can respond within one hour, if there is such a catastrophe that might have come in like the last time," Marzello said. "What that also means is we've taken several precautionary measures, like bringing heaters into the lower sections of the ship. There's heaters with blowers, and then there's also a flood control system. Those are two things that have never been installed in the ships since we've been here since 1977. So those measures, in itself, are going to be preventative and give us confidence that we can make it through the season."
As the New Year is quickly approaching, Marzello certainly has plenty to be thankful for after reflecting on all the transpired at the Naval Park. Even though the park went through a pretty tough time back in April, he continues to be amazed at the feat accomplished by all involved to bring The Sullivans back from the brink and have her back open for the summer months.
As he looks ahead to 2023, Marzello is already excited for all that's to come for not only The Sullivans, but for the Naval Park as a whole.
"We know we have a tough job ahead, but I think we're up to the challenge, based on what we've already been through," he said.
"I think our staff has positioned itself to be the biggest and best year we've ever had."
More of our conversation with Marzello is available in the player below:
