Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - "We're nearing a milestone in the history of the Naval Park."
Paul Marzello, President and CEO of the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park, says the City of Buffalo has issued a request for proposals to get two of its ships repaired. He called it "an extremely important step."
The cCty of Buffalo owns the ships - the USS Little Rock, USS The Sullivans and the USS Croaker submarine. That's why the RFP is coming from them.
The proposals are due Jan. 17, with three firms having expressed interest so far. One of which is a local company.
The plan is to move The Sullivans and Croaker to a dry dock in Erie, Pa. later this year. Marzello explained it's a complicated plan, and will require a team effort.
In April of 2022, The USS Sullivans began listing after taking on water. Since then, any repairs to the destroyer have been temporary.
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"The best way to repair these ships is to replace the steel. The steel will be replaced from the waterline down to the keel. Moving the ships to a dry dock in Erie is the right solution. It's expensive, but we're confident we can do the job," he said.
The plan will also require a dredging of the Buffalo River.
Did they consider doing any of this here in Buffalo, without moving the ships across Lake Erie?
"We did," said Marzello. "A lot of people said why don't we bring them out of the water and make a dry dock here? Building a dry dock, which is a massive undertaking, would probably be in the range of 60 to 80 million dollars. You have to take the ships out and build a temporary wall and pump the water down. In addition, you have to drill down into the bedrock because it's not a deep enough, and then fill it in with a concrete base. It would be a much more complicated and expensive option."
Instead, officials are opting to put them in a dry dock in Erie.
"It's about 100-mile journey, but we think we can manage that and get them back in time for the 2026 season. We're going to take every precaution to make sure we do it safely."
$21 million has been raised so far in a 'Save the Sullivans' fundraising campaign.
Both the USS The Sullivans and the USS Croaker are World War II era naval vessels.