Posted on 04/14/2022 8:28:05 PM PDT by algore
Crews are trying to keep a decommissioned World War II-era destroyer from sinking into Lake Erie as they pump 13,000 gallons of water out of the listing ship each minute.
Officials believe the USS The Sullivans suffered a breach on the right side of the hull Wednesday night, causing the ship to slowly go under.
Pumps were brought to the Erie County Naval & Military Park in downtown Buffalo, New York, where the ship is docked, in an effort to stabilize the 79-year-old vessel.
Park president Paul Marzello said that while the cause of the breach remains unknown at this time, he is confident workers will save the USS The Sullivans.
Marzello claims the rate at which officials are pumping the water out exceeds the amount at which it is coming into the destroyer
'There is no chance that the ship actually going to sink,' Marzello told WIVB. 'We've got a committed group down here. We're not going to give up the ship and failure is not an option.'
Video footage and photos shared on social media shows the boat tipping into the water on the starboard side.
At one part, half of the ship's deck was completely submerged.
Crews brought at least four industrial sump pumps to the scene in an effort to reverse the flow of water.
'We are confident that we are going to be able to correct the situation. It doesn't look very good,' Marzello said, adding: 'I think we've seen the worst, but I don't know
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Man, those Neptune missiles sure have a lot of range!
Deferred maintenance sucks.
Or a mini sub
Better to display it on dry land.
At a dock in some sheltered harbor, it likely has only slightly more motion than if on blocks.
Always tied to the dock, it doesn’t provide much dynamic fun.
The Sullivan brothers story is one of heartbreak.
Can you imagine losing 3 sons in war?
They lost 5 sons in a single day!
Better to display it on dry land.
This is the battleship New Jersey curator Ryan Szimanski and naval historian Drachinifel’s comments on the Sullivans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZvY2s5rRQI
If you don’t watch the entire video they said ships are not made to be displayed on land or in permanent dry dock.
Five!
“...the cause of the breach remains unknown at this time...”
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A leak?
Most ship designs are not designed to be supported on dry land and will start breaking apart from internal stresses, the heavier the worse. That’s why once USS Texas gets out of drydock it will be berthed in a large tank of water, but not in a river or the sea.
The policy that arose out of the Sullivan boys’ deaths could have arisen much earlier, out of the most rudimentary of brainstorming sessions. How should we run our Navy? What would piss our citizens off if we did it or failed to do it? What could go wrong in wartime if half the deck division were biological brothers? Is it a possible issue that the Personnel Office of the War Department is full of brain dead jackwagons?
Five, which was all of their sons. I can’t imagine the pain their parents felt.
Rusted out somewhere under the waterline most likely. In other words, yes. A leak.
But what is the ship’s motive for leaking? Investigators still have no idea.
They could use some help from Navy diving & salvage crews. Real world problem for them to work, and lots of good exposure for Navy capabilities & careers.
To be determined, unfortunately. See the Battleship New Jersey/Drachinifel video someone linked above for a brief discussion of some of the problems. Fresh water is generally better than salt or brackish, but it has its own problems.
I suspect it’s like all vehicles including cars - you pay up front or you pay over time, but if you don’t pay you lose it.
US Navy divers are too busy learning to walk in high heels and use correct pronouns these days.
They have to plug the hole or the pumps will be useless
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