Cameras allowed near the Oriskany

Caller-Times ^ | January 14, 2004 | Matthew Sturdevant

[SwinneySwitch]

Ship to be cleaned up here and then made into a reef.

Retired sailors and history buffs who have an interest in the USS Oriskany will get a chance to photograph the ship and see it crossing Corpus Christi Bay before it is sunk and made into an artificial reef.

The USS Oriskany is scheduled to arrive Saturday at Texas Docks & Rail Co. on the end of the ship channel in Corpus Christi for a six-month cleaning, said Steven Childers, operations manager at Texas Docks & Rail.

At 7 a.m. Thursday the Oriskany will be towed out of a reserve fleet in Beaumont, said Denise Johnston, a civilian contractor who is overseeing the removal of solvents from the Oriskany. From there, the aircraft carrier will be pulled to Port Aransas, through the ship channel and to Corpus Christi, Johnston said. The aircraft carrier will be traveling at about 4 mph to 5 mph. It will take some two to three hours to get from Port Aransas to Corpus Christi.

Johnston said the ship will arrive either Saturday or Sunday, depending on the weather. Childers said he was told to expect the Oriskany some time during the daylight hours on Saturday. The ship can only be navigated through the channel during daylight hours because it's nearly 900 feet long and has to be towed, Childers said.

Once the ship is docked and tied down, Texas Docks & Rail Co. will allow people to come see it from shore and take pictures if they care to, Childers said.

"It's not going to be painted and pretty, like the Lex (Lexington Museum) is with planes on the flight deck," Childers said. "But if people want to come see it, they can. There may be a possibility of getting on the flight deck."

Johnston said she would check with the U.S. Navy and the Maritime Administration to see if visitors could get clearance for visitations to the flight deck. It's not clear if visitors would be able to board the ship, but Childers said they could see it from the shore as long as they're with a Texas Docks & Rail employee. There may be some guidelines for visitation - people will likely have to wear hardhats, Childers said.

Resolve Marine Services of Florida, and a Brownsville company, EscoMarine, will spend the next six months removing hazardous materials from hundreds of tanks and bilge compartments on the ship. The companies were jointly awarded a $2.18 million U.S. Navy contract to remove oily solvents from hundreds of tanks and bilge compartments on the ship, according to federal contract information.

Cleaning the Oriskany is expensive because the ship has chemicals and substances that are regulated by the federal government for special disposal, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, mercury and asbestos, Johnston has said.

The Navy and U.S. Maritime Administration are evaluating applications from five states for four sites - three in the Gulf of Mexico and one off the Atlantic coast - and will decide later this month or in February where it will be sunk.

The Oriskany was used during the Korean and Vietnam wars from 1950 to 1976. It will be the largest ship deliberately sunk as an artificial reef, according to the Maritime Administration.

Officials haven't announced yet where the ship will be sunk.

Contact Matthew Sturdevant at 886-3778 or sturdevantm@caller.com

[SwinneySwitch]

FYI

[Moose4]

A sad end for a proud ship. I sure wish there was something better to do with her than make her into an artificial reef that will probably either be too deep to dive on, or off-limits to divers thanks to environazis.

}:-)4

[onyx]

Thank you again for pinging me, again. :)

I'd love to be in Corpus to see this. I sure hope someone here will have the opportunity to see and photograph the grand Oriskany before she's put to rest beneath the water she graced for so many years.

Teary-eyed. :(

[Broker]

In 1975-6 Oriskany was cruising near Subic Bay, Philippines. I was inbound to the ship flying my C-1A COD for VRC-50 based on Cubi Piont. An A-4 had just crashed near the ship and we flew over the oil slick on our approach for landing.

Later, I discover the pilots name was Bruce, like mine. His his death was avoidable. The problem was that the landing gear wouldn't go down. He went to shore and NAS Cubi Point wouldn't let him land on their field. He went back to the ship to punch out, but the system failed. He attempted an inverted high speed bail out and the A-4 flamed out. The crash was watched from Vultures Row on board Oriskany.

Many people died keeping the peace. God Bless them all and the good ship USS Oriskany.

[FreePaul]

There are several ships off of Freeport, Texas that are good for diving and fishing. They are in around one hundred feet of water. The water there is generally clear and warm enough to dive year around. I haven't been there in a long time and I don't do any deep diving now. I've heard that the Oriskany will be sunk in over two hundred feet of water, too deep for scuba diving. That would be a shame.

[CPOSharky]

Thanks for the ping.

I'm glad "Mighty O-boat" will go to rest at sea rather than be cut up for scrap.

She will live on in our memories and movies.

(Airwing on her next to last cruise)

[ccmay]

One of my ancestors served with the Tryon County Militia at the Battle of Oriskany.

I agree that this is a more fitting end for the ship than to be broken and scrapped.

-ccm

[TXnMA]

In Memoriam

...And in honor of you and your crewmates...

Thank you!

[CPOSharky]

Thank you for the picture.

[gbunch]

Here's a link to a good report on the status of the site selection:
http://waterfront-news.com/habitat/habitat.htm

Only the Atlantic site proposes to sink it in deep water and make it off-limits to diving.

I've got my fingers crossed for Pensacola, one of my favorite dive destinations.

[bert]

I once wittnessed an A4 land gear up on a foamed runway at Cubi point. Slick as a ribbon the pilot eased into the foam and skidded to a stop without incident.


I used to fly the Cubi Point aero club T34 in the pattern with a C-5A doing touch and goes. It was tight, I mean really tight.

[cepheid]

If Oriskany is sunk upright (assuming all goes well) in 200' water, it would be easily diveable by recreational SCUBA divers. Actually, 210-215' would be ideal.

If the keel rests at 210-215'', the conning tower would be at approx 50', the flight deck at 110', and the hangar deck at 145-150'.

The conning tower would be an easy dive (assuming good sea conditions) for any properly-trained diver. The flight deck at 110' would provide a 15-20 minute dive on air (no deco) or even longer with 32% nitrox.

Minimal tech training would allow divers to the the hangar deck with, say, a lesser nitrox blend... 28% or so.

All these depths are easily divable with common gear.

[CPOSharky]

I once wittnessed an A4 land gear up on a foamed runway at Cubi point.

I watched an A4 taking off a Cubi hit an air burble and it's gear retracted. Skidded a good distance on the external wing tanks heading for the fuel pits. Good thing it didn't get there.

Best guess is that the pilot had the gear handle up, hit the burble, weight-on-wheels said "airborn" and snatched the gear up.

[CPOSharky]

conning tower

Just because it will be underwater it will become a conning tower? :-)

[CPOSharky]

conning tower

Just because it will be underwater it will become a conning tower? :-)

[mugsaway]

I'll be in Corpus for 3 weeks next month...If I can get close enough I'll take some and post them...

Mike

[FreePaul]

The ships that I have seen sunk on purpose were stripped to the main deck looking more like a barge than a ship. I'd be surprised if they left the superstructure in tact for this sinking.

[Mr. Silverback]

Thanks for the ping! Bump!