BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A fuel leak on the USS Croaker and flooding on the USS The Sullivans have triggered a multi-agency environmental and preservation response at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is leading the response alongside the U.S. Coast Guard, the City of Buffalo, and Naval Park leadership. Crews are on scene working to contain the environmental impact and keep both ships structurally sound.
WATCH: Response underway to fuel leak on USS Croaker, flooding on USS The Sullivans at Buffalo Naval Park
Crews are working to pump approximately 25,000 gallons of fuel and another 115,000 gallons of oily water out of the USS Croaker. An additional 30,000 gallons of water is being removed from the USS The Sullivans. That water is being placed in portable tanks set up nearby.
Buffalo Naval Park President and CEO Brian Luallen said the work was always planned — it just arrived sooner than expected.
"We have always known we needed to remove petroleum product that's been on these vessels for 50 years since they arrived in Buffalo, and we are going to do that faster and better than we would have otherwise because partners like the state's DEC, Department of Environmental Conservation, and the US Coast Guard to expedite the work. It's never good news to have a pinhole in a vessel that has petroleum products in it in a waterway, but the outcome of this is really positive. We need to get these materials off so that we can safely transport them four hours down the lake to Erie, Pennsylvania in the coming months for dry docking and long-term repairs that will ensure that these ships are around for many more generations."
On Monday, March 16, crews removed approximately 7,500 gallons of oily water from the USS The Sullivans and treated it onsite, and then power-washed the tank the next day. Also on Tuesday, March 17, crews drilled a six-inch hole in a tank to access oily water for recovery from the USS Croaker. Officials said 1,600 gallons were removed from that hole.
On March 18, crews pumped 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 3,000 gallons of oily water out of the USS Croaker and completed cleaning the engine room of the USS Sullivans.
On March 19, crews pumped out 4,500 gallons from the USS Croaker. Officials said that 89,900 gallons remain to be pumped out. In addition, crews pumped out 6,000 gallons of oil and water from the USS Sullivans, which leaves 40,000 gallons left to pump out.
Back in 2022, the Sullivans partially sank into the Buffalo River. Naval park leadership reported a major breach in the hull caused the ship to take on water.
Since then, the park has continued patching dozens of smaller holes in the ship's hull with concrete.
Over that time, more than $21 million in funding was raised in hopes of getting The Sullivans, as well as USS Croaker, to dry dock for emergency repairs to stabilize the ships’ hulls and preserve them for years to come. The DEC said both vessels will be transported along Lake Erie to Donjon Shipbuilders in Erie, Pennsylvania, where dry dock repairs will take place.
Now the future dry docking and repairs are expected to take place either in early fall or next spring. The current cleanup is expected to take between six and 14 days and is being paid for with part of the $21 million already raised.
