What it takes to winterize the USS The Sullivans

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Preparations for a Buffalo winter really start when we get that first forecast that a storm is coming. At the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, winter prep is underway now.

Part of that process is capping off pipes in the USS The Sullivans. These pose a major risk when it comes to her sinking again if she were to take on water. Especially after tentative plans to dry dock her are on hold, for now.

Tightly tethered at Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, the USS The Sullivans bobs up and down on a calm summer day.

“We are spending an awful lot of time and energy making sure we've got a plan in place that works for everyone,” said Paul Marzello, president and CEO at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park.

That plan is a 13-point one. It details how the Naval Park will have her ready for winter by September.

“In which we call the ‘Survivability Plan,' ” Marzello said.

It’s a nearly $500,000 plan, paid for by a HUD grant thanks to work done by Congressman Brian Higgins.

“He has given us the resources, in addition to the generous amount that came from Senator Schumer [the] year prior,” Marzello explained. “That is going to be used for the actual dry-docking. We are not at the point where we can fund the entire dry-docking operation.”

The hope was to have the 80-year-old vessel dry-docked come this fall. That timeline has been moved back a year. Despite the $8 million in federal and state money, the naval park is still $7 million short of the $15 million dry-docking price tag.

“The interesting thing about this is if we could get another $3 million, meaning $10 million altogether, we could do the Croaker as well,” Marzello added.

Fundraising efforts are underway in earnest. So is the plan to winterize The Sullivans. The main objective is to make sure that from the traverse bulkheads to open piping, doors and hatches, everything is watertight.

“So these are the steel walls that create the watertight sections within the ships. We have to make sure that those are secure, they're watertight,” Marzello said.

Getting the electrical power restored is another must.

“There are several things like the deicing bubblers, the 440-volt heaters, dehumidifiers, air removers, all of that has to be sufficient power to make sure that those can function properly,” Marzello listed.

There will be a minimum of 16 one-horsepower de-icing units.

“One of the most important things that we're putting in place is a flood alarm system,” Marzello said.

Marzello says via their cell phones, there will be 24-hour video monitoring, and an alarm system.

“There will be two indicators. One, to give us a first warning and a second one a little bit higher up, which will allow us to find out how fast that water is increasing over a period of time,” he said.

There’s also an emergency response contract, and there will be pre-staging of generators, hoses, whatever they’ll need, in case The Sullivans starts taking on water again.

It’s already been a $2.6 million labor of love to get her righted and clean. Marzello knows there’s so much more work to be done. But they’ll never stop.

“The motto of this ship is, we stick together,” Marzello smiled. “So, even through tragedy, we have always pulled together. And now, in the process of putting out a long-range plan, we're making sure we stick together.”

The same three dry dock options remain on the table: Erie, Pa.; Hamilton, Ontario; and Toledo, Ohio. If The Sullivans is sent off next fall, the complete hull replacement will take about three months. Interior renovations will then resume.