Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - While the USS The Sullivans continues to list to starboard badly, significant progress has been made in repairing holes to the hull and making assessments of how to proceed in saving the historic military ship in Buffalo.
"The ship is becoming more water tight at this point," U.S. Coast Guard Buffalo Commander Lexia Lettliejohn told Mayor Byron Brown on his weekly Sunday radio program on WUFO. "The list is actually less severe than it was originally, so we're seeing that the plugs and patches that the divers have installed are actually working."
The ship continues listing 14 degrees to starboard even after 13 holes were repaired by divers. Ten plugs were completed on the starboard side of the ship and three on the port side. Additionally, a number of stern repairs using epoxy were completed Saturday.
Miller Environment continues to manage the collection of oily debris from the ship and now water is beginning to be pumped off the ship in a controlled fashion. Approximately 29,000 gallons of water was pumped from the bow area of the ship Sunday, bringing the total water removed from the ship to approximately 50,000 gallons.
A marine chemist is on site assisting with a detailed plan to explore the ship compartment by compartment and that work is expected to continue this week.
Operations onboard the ship have also enabled the saving of at least 40 artifacts that have been turned over to the naval park.
USS The Sullivans (DD-537), a 79-year-old Fletcher-Class destroyer that saw action in World War II, the Korean War, and the Cold War is a major attraction at The Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park. USS The Sullivans is named in honor of the five Sullivan brothers who, serving together on the light cruiser USS Juneau, were all killed in action on its sinking around November 13, 1942.
"Talk of the Town with Mayor Byron Brown" weekly radio program
Posted by Mayor Byron W. Brown on Sunday, April 24, 2022
